Differential cellular composition of human palatine and pharyngeal tonsils

• Published in: Archives of oral biology Vol. 96; pp. 80 - 86
• Main Authors: Stanisce, Luke, Sims, Etty, Hou, Cheryl, Koshkareva, Yekaterina, Gaughan, John P., Kuzin, Igor, Bottaro, Andrea
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01.12.2018
• Subjects: Adenoid; Adenoids - cytology; Adenotonsillectomy; Adolescent; Adult; B-Lymphocytes - cytology; Child; Child, Preschool; Dendritic Cells - cytology; Dentistry; Endothelial Cells - cytology; Female; Flow Cytometry; Humans; Infant; Lymphocytes; Male; Mucosal immunity; Palatine Tonsil - cytology; Pharynx - cytology; Tonsil; Adenoid; Mucosal immunity; Adenotonsillectomy; Tonsil; Lymphocytes; DC
• ISSN: 0003-9969; 1879-1506
• DOI: 10.1016/j.archoralbio.2018.08.020

•Tonsils and adenoids from the same patient have different cellular composition.•Tonsils harbor higher germinal center B cell numbers compared to adenoids.•Plasmacytoid dendritic cells are more abundant in adenoids than in tonsils.•Tonsils have higher fibroblastic reticular and lymphatic endothelial cell fractions. The goal of this study was to gain a better understanding of the potential functional specialization of palatine and pharyngeal tonsils, by comparing their cellular composition in paired specimens from a large cohort of adenotonsillectomy patients. Resident B cell, T cell, dendritic cell, and stromal cell subsets were characterized using multicolor flow cytometry in palatine and pharyngeal tonsil specimens from 27 patients, age 2–34 years. Paired comparisons showed highly significant intra-individual differences in resident cell subsets of palatine and pharyngeal tonsils. Palatine tonsils harbored higher fractions of germinal center B cells/plasmablasts and IgD- CD27- double-negative B cells, and conversely lower fractions of IgD + CD38- resting naïve B cells compared to pharyngeal tonsils. Palatine tonsils also showed lower fractions of plasmacytoid dendritic cells, and higher percentages of two subsets of stromal cells - fibroblastic reticular cells and lymphatic endothelial cells - compared to pharyngeal tonsils from the same individual. Despite their physical proximity and histological similarities, palatine and pharyngeal tonsils display marked intra-individual differences in their cellular composition with regard to functionally important immune and stromal subsets. These differences are likely to have immunologic, pathologic, and physiologic significance.