Ultrastructural study of Reed-Sternberg cells. Comparison with transformed lymphocytes and histiocytes

The ultrastructural features of Reed-Sternberg cells from 17 patients with Hodgkin's disease were compared with those of histiocytes and transformed lymphocytes in both benign and malignant conditions. Transformed lymphocytes and Reed-Sternberg cells appeared to have similar features, including large nuclei with dispersed chromatin, large nucleoli, and great numbers of cytoplasmic polyribosomes. Histiocytes contained abundant cytoplasmic lysosomal granules and microfilaments. These results are indicative of the origin of Reed-Sternberg cells from lymphocytes.