Plasma Cells Producing Lambda Light Chains Are Predominant in Human Gut and Tonsils: An Immunohistomorphometric Study

An immunohistomorphometric study was performed on human samples of duodenum (10) and tonsil (25) to assess the numbers of plasma cells producing kappa or lambda chains. Different reagents were used and carefully assayed for specificity and absence of cross-reactivity. Kappa chains were found predominantly with these antibodies in 46 bone marrow-derived B-cell proliferations used as reagents' control samples. In contrast, plasma cells producing lambda chains were found to be more numerous in the samples of mucosal tissues. The kappa/lambda ratio observed was 0.53. This finding could be another feature reflecting the autonomy of the immune system of mucosae (MALT) in humans.