High Expression of Intestinal Homing Receptor CD103 in Adult T-Cell Leukemia/Lymphoma, Similar to 2 Other CD8+ T-Cell Lymphomas

We investigated the expression of the alpha E beta 7 integrin (CD103)-intestinal homing receptor of T-intraepithelial lymphocytes (IELs) in 130 cases of adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL). We detected CD103(+) lymphoma cells in 55% (31/56) of mainly gastrointestinal (GI)-involved ATLL cases. Among them, lymphoma cells of 18 cases located in other involved organs had similar CD103 expression patterns. Histologically, we found (a) increased reactive IELs in non-neoplastic mucosal layers in 28% (5/18) of surgical and mucosal resection cases, (b) preserved epithelial glands, and (c) numerous small intra-epithelial ATLL nests in involved lesions in 36 (69%) and 21 (40%), respectively, of the 52 examined cases. These 3 patterns were common in intestinal type II enteropathy-associated T-cell lymphoma but were rare in intestinal EBV+ nasal-type/like T/natural killer (NK)-cell lymphoma. We detected CD103(+) tumor cells in 41% (16/39) of lymph node-involved ATLL, in 31% (11/35) of skin-involved ATLL, in 68% (21/31) of type II CD4(-) enteropathy-associated T-cell lymphoma cases, in 36% (8/22) of primary gastric T/NK-cell lymphomas, and in 77% (7/9) of CD8(+) epidermotropic mycosis fungoides. CD103(+) ATLL prefers involving the GI tract over the skin (P<0.05). CD103 expression in GI-involved and/or total ATLL cases was significantly higher than in other 9 T/NK-cell lymphoma groups (P<0.05 or 0.01). Only ATLL cases were commonly CD103(+) in CD4(+) T/NK-cell lymphoma groups (P<0.05 or 0.01). Human T-lymphotropic virus-1-infected CD103(+) T-IELs and mucosal T cells may be important sources of ATLL.