Figure 2.

B cells in gastro-esophageal adenocarcinoma are mainly localized in tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS). B cells in tumor sections of gastro-esophageal adenocarcinoma were stained by immunohistochemistry for CD20 (A). Lymphocytic subsets in PBMC of healthy controls (PBMC HC, n = 20), PBMC of untreated tumor patients (PBMC AC, n = 46), tumor samples (n = 28) and tumor-draining lymph nodes (TDLN, n = 23) were analyzed by flow cytometry for the percentages of CD4⁺CXCR5⁺CCR7⁻CD45RA⁻ follicular T helper cells (B), CD20⁻CD27⁺CD38⁺⁺ plasmablasts (C) and CD20⁻CD27⁺CD38⁺⁺CD138⁺ plasmacells (D). Presence of lymphatic vessels (PNAd) and follicular dendritic cells (FDC-M1) as additional components of TLS is demonstrated by confocal microscopy (E). CD38⁺ B cells were visualized by confocal microscopy of CD19, CD38 and CD3 (F). Graphs show mean values ± SEM, p = ANOVA, *p < 0.05.