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. 2016 Apr 7;1(4):e86288. doi: 10.1172/jci.insight.86288

Figure 1. Transfer of CLL B cells into NSG mice can lead to terminal differentiation of cells into plasmablasts/plasma cells.

Figure 1

(A) Analysis of mCD45–hCD4–hCD8– cells from spleens reveals a hCD45+ subpopulation strongly expressing CD38 (CD38++) that are larger but with less CD19 (MFI: CD38++ = 1,178 vs. CD38– = 7,157) and CD5 (MFI: CD38++ = 8,508 vs. CD38– = 9,763) intensities. A CD38++ subset expresses CD138 (19.7%). When FACS-sorted, this population (*) used the clonal, patient-specific IGHV-D-J rearrangement. (B) Representative immunohistology (IH) of a CD20+PAX5+ perivascular aggregate (PVA). Arrow identifies vessel. Scale bar: 250 μm. (C) Representative IH of human IgM, IgG, Igκ, and Igλ in a CD20+PAX5+PVA. Scale bar: 250 μm. (D) Igκ staining of area indicated by arrow in C showing denser Ig at the CD20+PAX5+PVAs rims. H&E staining reveals a plasmablast/plasma cell (PC) morphology. Scale bar: 10 μm. (E) Representative H&E and IH of area with cells having PC morphology shows expression of CD38, PC-marker VS38c, and CD138 in a subset of cells. Scale bar: 50 μm. (F) Representative immunofluorescence staining of a CD20+PAX5+PVA rim, as indicated by arrows in C. Blue, nuclear stain; red, CD20; and green, Igκ. Scale bar: 10 μm. Preceding data derived from 13 chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cases in 13 independent experiments involving 51 mice with T cell expansion (Table 1). m, murine; h, human; MFI, mean fluorescence intensity; NSG, NOD/Shi-scid,γcnull; PVA, perivascular aggregate.