Immunohistologic analysis of the organization of normal lymphoid tissue and non-Hodgkin's lymphomas

Hoping to improve the systems for identifying and classifying normal and malignant lymphoid subpopulations, frozen and paraffin sections of nonmalignant lymphoid tissue and of malignant lymphomas were immunostained for surface (S) and cytoplasmic antigens using the peroxidase-antiperoxidase method. Primary follicle cells and follicle mantle cells known to be part of the recirculating B-cell pool were found to be constantly Ia and C3 receptor (C3R) positive, mostly SIgM and SIgD positive and cytoplasmic immunoglobulin (CIg) negative. The light zone of germinal centers (GC), which is rich in centrocytes, contained a large number of T cells and showed the well-known intercellular Ig network pattern; the dark zone, containing densely packed centroblasts, was usually free of T cells, but was bordered ay a mantle-like accumulation of T cells. Usually only some of the GC cells were definitely positive for SIg and CIg of different classes. All cells reacted positively for Ia and C3R. In areas described by other authors as containing marginal zone cells, cells densely bearing SIgM and deficient in SIgD were detected. The immunoblasts of the hyperplastic plasma cell reaction usually contained CIg. Cells from chronic lymphoid leukemia sections that immunostained for SIgM and SIgD were interpreted as representing a neoplasm of recirculating B cells expressing SIgM and SIgD. The immunohistologic architecture of follicular centroblastic/centrocytic lymphoma showed a more or less close similarity to the organization of secondary follicles. Lymphomas whose cells resembled reactive centrocytes were strongly SIgM positive and SIgD negative or only weakly SIgD positive. CIg was demonstrable in nearly 90% of the lymphomas whose cells resembled centroblasts and in 70% of the lymphomas whose cells resembled immunoblasts of the plasma cell reaction. Finally, immunohistologic staining results from a T-zone lymphoma are presented, which confirm that this lymphoma was composed of a neoplastic T zone and a non-malignant B zone.