Primary Hematopoietic and Lymphoid Tissue ›› Bone Marrow ›› Lymphoid ›› Plasma Cells ›› Abnormal
Plasmablast (Immature plasma cell)
›Microscopic Features:
- 3-4x larger than a mature RBC
- Round eccentricly placed nucleus with less mature chromatin
- Moderate amount of basophilic (blue) cytoplasm with prominent perinuclear hof (clearing)
- Nucleoli are Prominent
›Normal % blood-PB, marrow-BM, lymphoid tissue-LN:
- PB: None
- BM: None
- LN: None
›May Resemble:
- Polychromatophilic normoblast
- Plasma cell (mature)
- Myeloblast
- Osteoblast
- Pronormoblast
- Monoblast
- Reactive lymphocyte
›Differential Diagnoses:
Plasma cell myeloma (plasmablastic form)
Plasmablastic lymphoma
Plasma cell leukemia
Plasmablastic lymphoma
Plasma cell leukemia
›Classic Immunophenotype:
- CD138+
- CD38 bright+
- CD19-
- CD56- (more common)
- CD20-
- Cytoplasmic light chain restricted (kappa only or lambda only)
›Cartoon Image:
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›Misc:
Rarely found in normal bone marrow and rarely noted in non-neoplastic conditions