The expression of granulysin in systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma in childhood

The expression of granulysin, a cytolytic protein produced by activated T and NK cells, has been revealed to be correlated with the prognosis of some adult cancer patients. By examination on various childhood lymphoma tissues, we found that granulysin level was especially high in systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL) cases, whereas no close correlation with the expression of CD96, a marker for activated T and NK cells, was observed. We further demonstrated that both ALCL cells in biopsy specimens and cell lines established from ALCL express granulysin, indicating some correlation of granulysin with biological features of ALCL.