Abstract
Morphological changes are described in pelvic lymph nodes excised 10 days after C. parvum (CP) treatment of patients with cervical carcinoma. Guinea-pig popliteal and inguinal lymph nodes were investigated from Days 1 to 10 after an injection of 70 micrograms CP into the footpad. Eosinophils were detected from the first few hours after stimulation, initially in the marginal sinus, then in the medullary sinuses and subsequently in the efferent lymphatics. From Day 2 to Day 6, histiocyte accumulations with the appearance of epithelioid cells were found mainly in subcapsular and interfollicular areas, and small granulomas were also seen in the paracortex. The granuloma formation in the lymph node was considered as an indication of the activation of histiocytes. Besides small granulomas in the paracortex, activated interdigitating cells, surrounded by scattered lymphoblasts and eosinophils, were also present. We considered this lymphoblastic response and eosinophilic accumulation as likely to be due to blastogenic factor and eosinophil stimulation promotor. Eight to 10 days after CP stimulation, the macrophage lymphoblast eosinophil response was replaced by a B-cell reaction: germinal-centre activation and medullary plasma cells. Such a B-cell reaction was also found in the human pelvic nodes removed at operation, but this reaction could not be attributed to CP treatment alone, since cervical-carcinoma patients not treated with CP also showed such reactions. In contrast, pelvic lymph nodes removed at necropsy from females killed in traffic accidents showed no predominance of either B- or T-cell stimulation.
Highlights
Summary.-Morphological changes are described in pelvic lymph nodes excised 10 days after C. parvum (CP) treatment of patients with cervical carcinoma
A few hours after the injection of 70 jug CP into the footpad, eosinophilic leucocytes were seen in the marginal sinus of the popliteal node, and by 6 h they constituted 10-15% of the cellular population in the sinus
Within 24-48 h the eosinophils were seen in the medullary sinuses, and thereafter they were visible in the efferent lymphatics
Summary
(Guinea-pigs.-Female guinea-pigs of the Hartley strain (TNO Zeist, the Netherlands) weighing 350-450 g were used. Comparisons were made between the lymph nodes of CP-treated patients and those not receiving immune stimulation In these investigations we included the pelvic lymph nodes of 5 healthy women killed in traffic accidents. The lymph nodes of both experimental animals and patients wiere fixed in a mixture of formaldehyde, acetic acid and mercuric chloride for 2-3 h at 4°C, as described by Romeis (1968). They were treated with Lugol solution and 500 sodium thiosulphate, dehydrated, embedded in paraffin wax, sectioned at 5 ,um and stained with Giemsa stain, haematoxylin-eosin and methyl-greenpyronin. Statistical analysis.-The statistical analysis for comparison of the control and the immune-stimulated groups of lymph nodes used Fisher's 2 x 2 exact test or the Willcoxon 2-sample test
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