Related Experiment Video
Updated: Dec 29, 2025
Fluorescence-activated Cell Sorting for Purification of Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells from the Mouse Bone Marrow
Published on: November 4, 2016
Hemosiderin deposition in lymph nodes of patients with plasma cell-type Castleman disease
Yanyan Han1, Takuro Igawa1, Kyohei Ogino2
1Department of Pathology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama, Japan.
Insights
Hemosiderin deposition is more common in plasma cell-type Castleman disease (PCD) than in IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD). This finding aids in differentiating these conditions, with deposition linked to inflammation.
Area of Science:
- Hematology
- Immunology
- Pathology
Background:
- Plasma cell-type Castleman disease (PCD) is a rare lymphoproliferative disorder.
- Histological differentiation between PCD and IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) can be challenging.
- PCD often exhibits significant hemosiderin deposition in lymph nodes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the utility of hemosiderin deposition in distinguishing PCD from IgG4-RD.
- To quantify and compare hemosiderin deposition in lymph node lesions of PCD and IgG4-RD patients.
- To explore correlations between hemosiderin deposition and inflammatory/anemia markers.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of lymph node biopsies from 22 PCD and 12 IgG4-RD patients.
- Prussian blue staining to detect and quantify hemosiderin deposition.
- Statistical analysis of hemosiderin cell counts and correlations with serum markers (CRP, IL-6, hemoglobin, iron).
Main Results:
- Hemosiderin deposition was significantly denser in PCD compared to IgG4-RD (median 13 vs. 4 cells/3HPFs, P=0.034).
- Hemosiderin deposition showed a significant positive correlation with serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels (P=0.045).
- No significant correlations were found between hemosiderin deposition and serum IL-6, hemoglobin, or iron levels.
Conclusions:
- Increased hemosiderin deposition is a characteristic feature of PCD.
- Hemosiderin deposition may serve as a valuable diagnostic marker for differentiating PCD from IgG4-RD.
- The observed deposition is potentially linked to the inflammatory activity in PCD.
Abstract:
Plasma cell-type Castleman disease (PCD) is a rare idiopathic atypical lymphoproliferative disorder. It is difficult to differentiate between PCD and IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) based on histology alone. As PCD often presents with abundant hemosiderin deposition, lymph node lesions obtained from 22 PCD patients and 12 IgG4-RD patients were analyzed using Prussian blue staining to clarify whether hemosiderin deposition is effective in distinguishing between these two diseases. The analysis disclosed that hemosiderin was more densely deposited in PCD than in IgG4-RD. The median number of Prussian blue-positive cells ± standard deviation (SD) in PCD and IgG4-RD cases was 13 ± 36 cells/3HPFs and 4 ± 8 cells/3HPFs (P = 0.034), respectively. In addition, we analyzed the relationship between hemosiderin deposition and levels of serum interleukin (IL)-6, serum C-reactive protein (CRP), and anemia-related biomarkers. We found that hemosiderin deposition was significantly correlated with the level of serum CRP (P = 0.045); however, no significant correlation was observed between hemosiderin deposition and serum IL-6 levels (P = 0.204). A non-significant positive correlation was observed between hemosiderin deposition and serum hemoglobin levels (P=0.09). Furthermore, no significant correlation was observed between hemosiderin deposition and serum iron levels (P = 0.799). In conclusion, hemosiderin deposition characteristically observed in PCD may be related to the inflammatory aggressiveness of the disease and could be used for its differential diagnosis.
