[Cell origin of localized Castleman's disease of hyaline-vascular type]

To investigate the cell features of 6 Castleman's disease patients and evaluate their prognosis.

The resected tumors were investigated by routine histopathology and immunohistochemistry. Reverse-transcript PCR (RT-PCR) and sequencing of RT-PCR products were used to assess the clonal characters of the main tumor cells.

Histologically, all of the 6 tumors were classified as the hyaline vascular type. B-cells dominated the follicular germinal centers, with T-cells dispersing inter-follicularly. The results of RT-PCR each obtained a single band of either 128 bp or 122 bp and sequencing showed that there was highly homogeneity within the same length sequences, accompanied by fewer different nucleotide acids.

Monoclonal and/or oligoclonal B cells were identified in Castleman's disease. These B cells were originated from germinal center cells.