Giant lymph node hyperplasia: a disease of primary follicle/mantle zone lymphocytes?

Histological, immunohistochemical, and immunological features of a lymph node from a patient with Castleman's disease (CD), hyaline vascular type, were investigated. The results substantiate a peculiar immunological identity of this disease. CD lymph nodes consisted mainly of polyclonal primary follicle/mantle zone lymphocytes. Germinal center cells and plasma cells were absent, while T-lymphocyte subsets were not modified.