Plasma cells

Plasma cells in the glossary for Waldenström's macroglobulinemia

White blood cells that originate in the bone marrow and secrete large quantities of antibodies in response to antigen presentation

Plasma cells (also known as plasma B-cells), are white blood cells that originate in the bone marrow and secrete large quantities of antibodies in response to presentation of various antigens. These antibodies are transported from the plasma cells by the blood plasma and the lymphatic system to the site of the target antigen (foreign substance), where they initiate its neutralization or destruction. B-cells differentiate into plasma cells that produce antibody molecules closely modelled after the receptors of the precursor B-cell. ¹ Plasma cells are round-to-ovoid cells containing abundant deep blue cytoplasm with a pale perinuclear area corresponding to the Golgi apparatus and a round, eccentrically placed nucleus. ² Plasma cell malignancies include plasmacytoma, multiple myeloma and Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia.³​