Comparative Anatomy, Physiology, and Biochemistry of Mammalian Skin
David W. Hobson in Dermal and Ocular Toxicology, 2020
The plasma cell is usually found in loose connective tissue and in great numbers in lymphatic tissue. It is derived from B-lymphocytes which differentiate in the connective tissue after antigenic stimulation. Antibody production is the function of the plasma cell (see Chapter 5). In routine staining for light microscopy, plasma cells can be seen to contain a large amount of cytoplasm relative to the size of the nucleus. The nuclear chromatin is distributed in clumps around the periphery of the cell. The nucleolus is prominent. The plasma cell can sometimes contain acidophilic granules termed Russel bodies. Ultrastructurally, plasma cells have an abundance of rough endoplasmic reticulum and prominent organelles such as a large Golgi region, mitochondria, polyribosomes, and finger-like extensions of the plasma membrane. The abundance of rough endoplasmic reticulum suggests protein secretion, a finding consist with their role of producing antibodies for release into the blood.204
Towards a New Theory of Antioncogenesis
Nate F. Cardarelli in Tin as a Vital Nutrient:, 2019
The work of Levine and colleagues might well be reconsidered at this point (Chapter 9). Tin powder injected i.p. in Lewis rats was found to accumulate in the lymph nodes and to cause a great increase in plasma cells.159 The author speculated, “do physiological amounts of tin function in the normal postnatal development of plasma cells in the same way that large doses of tin produce excess numbers of plasma cells in the artificial systems of this report”. With i.v. administration, no response was seen with the first injection, but the second injection caused enlargement of the spleen and a high proliferation of plasma cells.160 This would appear similar to the typical antigen-anti-body reaction. (Plasma cells are those that produce antibodies.) However, the prior oral administration of tin salts and then injection of the powdered tin did not lead to plasma cell hyperplasia. The SnCl2 oral treatment blocked plasma cell response for at least 8 weeks post treatment.161 Zinc, copper, silver, and sodium salts did not so react. The thymus appeared to be unaffected as determined by lack of weight loss and atrophication. It was also reported that old rats were more reactive than young rats.160
Enzyme Kinetics and Drugs as Enzyme Inhibitors
Peter Grunwald in Pharmaceutical Biocatalysis, 2019
Plasma cells normally produce large amounts of antibodies (immunoglobulins) in response to the immune system. In case of malignant transformation this property gets lost and is substituted by the production of a single type of abnormal monoclonal or M protein (monoclonal gammopathy) not being able to fight infections. Myeloma cells may also produce too many light chains that accumulate in tissues to amyloids (light chain amyloidosis). For example, their agglomeration in the heart may cause congestive heart failure, or harm the kidney. Furthermore the exceeding growth of plasma cells in the bone marrow proceeds at the expense of normal blood-forming cells with the consequence of anemia; thrombocytopenia (a low platelet count in the blood) may lead to development of external bleeding; a decrease in the number leukocytes (leukopenia) is tantamount to an increased risk of infections.
B cells and upper airway disease: allergic rhinitis and chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps evaluated
Published in Expert Review of Clinical Immunology, 2021
Harsha H Kariyawasam, Louisa K James
B-cell memory is provided by both memory B (CD19+) cells and long-lived plasma cells (CD138+). Plasma cells are terminally differentiated and function solely to secrete very high quantities of antibody. Whereas plasma cells that originate early on in the B-cell response, prior to germinal center formation, are relatively short-lived (3–5 days), plasma cells that emerge following the germinal center response are remarkably long-lived. These long-lived plasma cells reside in specialized niches such as the bone marrow, spleen and gut, supported by cytokines including IL-6 and APRIL produced by stromal cells [45], where they may survive for up to the lifetime of the host and continually secrete antibody at a rate of over 108 antibody molecules per hour [49]. Memory B cells represent a heterogeneous subset of B cells but are essentially characterized as long-lived quiescent B cells capable of being reactivated by secondary antigen exposure. When exposed to antigen, memory B cells can either form new germinal center responses or can rapidly differentiate to plasma cells to produce affinity-matured antibody. These fate choices are determined in part by whether the memory B cell had undergone antibody class switching with unswitched memory B cells more likely to form new germinal center responses whereas switched memory B cells are more likely to differentiate into plasma cells [50]. Memory B cells can recirculate through SLOs but can also reside within tissues, such as the airway where they play an important role in barrier surveillance [51].
Increased Non-switched Memory B Cells are Associated with Plasmablasts, Serum IL-6 Levels and Renal Functional Impairments in IgAN Patients
Published in Immunological Investigations, 2020
Rui Si, Pingwei Zhao, Zhenxiang Yu, Zhihui Qu, Weixia Sun, Tao Li, Yanfang Jiang
Following antigen challenge, non-switched memory B cells can be re-activated, proliferate and differentiate into plasmablasts (Seifert et al. 2015; Torigoe et al. 2017) and secrete high affinity of antibodies and pro-inflammatory cytokines (Shi et al. 2003). The significantly increased frequency of non-switched memory B cells and plasmablasts in IgAN patients were positively correlated, which may reflect that antigen activates non-switched memory B cells, which proliferate and differentiate into plasmablasts. Plasmablasts can secrete antibody and further differentiate into plasma cells (Jego et al. 1999), contributing to the pathogenesis of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. The significantly increased frequency of plasmablasts also extended previous observation in membranous nephropathy (Pozdzik et al. 2016). The increased frequency of circulating plasmablasts may explain why a higher frequency of plasma cells exists in IgAN patients (Zheng et al. 2017).
Memory B cells and long-lived plasma cells in AMR
Published in Renal Failure, 2022
Wenlong Yue, Jia Liu, Xiaohu Li, Luman Wang, Jinfeng Li
Plasma cells are differentiated from activated B cells. As the final B cells to be produced, plasma cells can be classified into short-lived plasma cells and long-lived plasma cells from GC [60]. Long-lived plasma cells produce high-affinity, class-switched antibodies, while memory B cells have broader antigen specificity. Therefore, when antigens enter the human body, long-lived plasma cells produce neutralizing antibodies against antigens in the first phase of immune response. In the second phase of immune response, memory B cells play important roles by rapidly producing antibodies with high affinity against various pathogens [50,55]. In terms of surface marker expression, CD38 and CD138 generally colocalize on the plasma cell surface [61]. Garimalla et al. [62] reported ASCs, including plasma cells and long-lived plasma cells, in peripheral blood 7 days after tetanus vaccination. These ASCs lacked CD20 expression. CD20 is specifically expressed in the late stage of B-cell development, and the failure to detect CD20 may be an indication of successful B- cell conversion into plasma cells [63,64]. After clinical transplantation, mature GC B cells and memory B cells can be eliminated from patients with AMR with drugs targeting CD20 (such as rituximab), but this treatment cannot effectively reduce the concentration of DSAs, which is consistent with the absence of CD20 molecules on the surface of plasma cells.
Related Knowledge Centers
- Antibody
- B Cell
- Cytoplasm
- Microscopy
- White Blood Cell
- Lymphatic System
- Lymphocyte
- Blood Plasma
- Antigen
- Basophilic