Nodular Lymphoma — Evidence for Origin from Follicular B Lymphocytes

Abstract

To investigate the cellular origin of nodular lymphoma, neoplastic cells from six patients with nodular lymphomas were studied both in cell suspensions and in frozen tissue sections for (1) the C3 receptor — red cells coated with antibody and complement (IgMEAC) — of B lymphocytes, (2) the receptor for cytophilic antibody — red cells coated with IgG (IgGEA) — of histiocytes, and (3) spontaneous rosette formation with sheep erythrocytes characteristic of T lymphocytes. A high proportion of the neoplastic cells in suspension bound IgMEAC. They did not bind IgGEA and did not form sheep erythrocyte rosettes. In tissue sections of nodular lymphomas the IgMEAC reagent bound to the neoplastic nodules. In control lymph nodes and spleens these binding properties were demonstrated to be characteristic of the cells of the lymphoid follicle, thus suggesting a follicular B-cell origin for nodular lymphomas. (N Engl J Med 290:813–819, 1974)