Fig. 1
From: Impaired lymph node stromal cell function during the earliest phases of rheumatoid arthritis
Morphologic and phenotypic characterization of cultured human lymph node stromal cells (LNSCs). a Cells growing out of the biopsy were mainly fibroblastic and formed dense networks. During growth, human LNSCs also started to branch and stretch or showed a more roundish morphology. b Flow cytometric analysis based on the expression of CD45, podoplanin (gp38) and CD31. Cells in culture (passages 3 to 6 [P3–P6]) were double-negative (DN) cells and fibroblastic reticular cell (FRCs). Gating was based on isotype controls. Human leucocyte antigen A, B, C (HLA-ABC) expression served as a positive control. Representative figures of 2 donors out of 25 experiments are shown. c Frequencies of FRCs (CD45−CD31− podoplanin [gp38]+) measured by fluorescence-activated cell sorting as described in (b) (P3–P6; n = 25) in different donor groups. d Follow-up of podoplanin (gp38) expression over different culture passages as measured by flow cytometry in a different cohort of 16 donors (healthy, n = 5; rheumatoid arthritis [RA] risk, n = 5; and RA, n = 6). APC Allophycocyanin, Cy Cyanine, FSC Forward scatter, PE Phycoerythrin, SSC Side scatter