title: Follicle lysis in HIV-free lymphoid tissues.
abstract: Follicle lysis (FL), the 'moth-eaten' degeneration of follicular dendritic cells (FDCs), previously regarded as specific for HIV-infected lymph follicles, was later claimed to exist in HIV-free patients. This study was performed to clarify the differences between HIV-free and HIV-induced FL. HIV-free and HIV-infected lymphoid tissues were analyzed immunohistologically. Most of HIV-free FLs were shown to lack the dark zones, the areas in germinal center composed mostly of much larger and clumped noncleaved cells, whereas HIV-induced FL in persistent generalized lymphadenopathy (PGL) lymph nodes included highly proliferative dark zones. Thus, FL in HIV-free lymphoid organs was suggested to be a physiological degenerative process with poor proliferative activity, while FL in PGL nodes includes two processes, FDC degeneration and B lymphocyte proliferation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University of Tokyo, Japan.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Shiota
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Toyama
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mori
mesh_terms: D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000473:pathology*; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D008221:Lymphoid Tissue / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology*