Russell bodies consist of heterogenous glycoproteins in B-cell lymphoma cells.

Abstract

The phenotypic expression of Russell bodies (RB) in the tumor cells of two patients with different types of B-cell lymphoma and of one patient with plasma cell myeloma were examined. In both B-cell lymphomas, the RBs reacted consistently with anti-Leu 8 and anti-immunoglobulin M. The RBs in one case also reacted with other monoclonal antibodies, including anti-CD5, CD19, CD22, and CD25. The membranes of most of the tumor cells containing RBs did not stain. In the myeloma, the RBs reacted only with anti-immunoglobulin, and the myeloma cells expressed no surface antigens associated with B lymphocytes. This finding suggests that RBs do not form in cells that can transport glycoproteins to the cell membrane, but rather occur as a result of defective transport or process of certain glycoproteins by plasmacytoid cells.