Abstract
Follicular dendritic cells (FDCs) are a specialized type of antigen-presenting dendritic cells that are largely restricted to lymphoid follicles. They form dense three-dimensional meshwork patterns within benign follicles, which maintain the follicular architecture. The FDC function is to bind and retain antigens by linking to complement and immune complexes and then present these antigens to germinal center B cells that start the secondary immune response. FDCs aid in the rescue of bound B cells from apoptosis, and induce the differentiation of B cells into long-term memory B cell clones or plasma cells. We will discuss the different patterns of the FDC meshwork observed in different types of reactive and neoplastic disorders, which may be due to underlying different roles that FDCs may play in these disorders and whether changes in the architecture of the FDC meshwork can be useful in routine diagnostic practice or have a prognostic value.
Highlights
Dendritic cells are a heterogeneous group of antigenpresenting cells that are present in lymph nodes and other organs
The ontogenic development of Follicular dendritic cells (FDCs) has been examined in rodents during the postnatal period, where the development of germinal centers was investigated at different time intervals following antigen administration, and the consensus was that FDC precursors probably result from mesenchymal cell differentiation followed by acquisition of the dendritic long fibers that are arranged in the form of dense meshworks capable of binding immune complexes during the germinal center reaction [5,6]
In the pages that follow, we present the different types of FDC meshwork patterns seen in common reactive and neoplastic disorders and in FDC sarcoma
Summary
Dendritic cells are a heterogeneous group of antigenpresenting cells that are present in lymph nodes and other organs. There are at least 4 types of dendritic cells that exist, which provide structural and functional stability for the nodal microenvironment [1]. The four cell types differ in their location, histology, ultrastructure, and function and they include: follicular dendritic cells (FDCs), interdigitating reticular cells, Langerhans cells, and fibroblastic/histiocytic cells [1]. A fifth type of dendritic cell named indeterminate cells (a presumed precursor of Langerhans cells) has been hypothesized to
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