Premium
THE ULTRASTRUCTURE OF CONTACT ZONES BETWEEN PLASMA CELLS AND MACROPHAGES IN THE BONE MARROW OF PATIENTS WITH MULTIPLE MYELOMA *
Author(s) -
Blom Jens
Publication year - 1977
Publication title -
acta pathologica microbiologica scandinavica section a pathology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.909
H-Index - 88
eISSN - 1600-0463
pISSN - 0365-4184
DOI - 10.1111/j.1699-0463.1977.tb00435.x
Subject(s) - cytoplasm , ultrastructure , membrane , electron microscope , organelle , plasma cell , chemistry , biophysics , vesicle , macrophage , bone marrow , cell , cell membrane , materials science , microbiology and biotechnology , pathology , biology , anatomy , in vitro , medicine , optics , biochemistry , physics
The ultrastructure of intercellular connections between plasma cells and dendritic bone marrow macrophages found in bone marrow aspirations from 15 patients with multiple myeloma is described. Two types of cell‐to‐cell contact were observed: 1) a juxtaposed type and 2) a mortise‐joint type. In both types the zones are characterized by an amorphous electron dense layer adherent to the inner leaflet of the cytoplasmic membrane of the plasma cell, whereas no morphological changes are present in the macrophage. The thickness of the electron dense layer in the plasma cell was found to range from 11 to 33 nm and its extension along the membrane from 0.2 μm to 2–3 μm. The distance from plasma cell surface to the surface of the macrophage was found to range from 11 to 27 nm, but the two cell membranes were always parallel at the contact zone region. At the contact zones small amounts of electron dense material were generally present in the interspace between the cells, and sometimes fine bridges of this material were seen to connect the two cells. The cytoplasm of the plasma cell was sparse in organelles at the contact zone region except for cytoplasmic filaments (7–9 nm in diameter). However, more than 50 per cent of the plasma cells did show a few electron dense, membranebound granules close to the contact zones. In some plasma cells a few coated vesicles were also found adjacent to the dense layers of the contact zones.