ANTI-CD38 AND VS38 ANTIBODIES FOR THE DETECTION OF PLASMA-CELLS IN THE DIAGNOSIS OF CHRONIC ENDOMETRITIS

Seventy-one histologically diagnosed endometrial biopsy specimens repr esenting chronic endometritis (n = 30), probable chronic endometritis (n = 21), secretory endometrium (n = 10), and proliferative endometriu m (n = 10) were immunostained with VS38 and anti-CD38, two new antibod ies to plasma cells. In addition, 30 specimens of nonlesional premenop ausal endometrium, removed in hysterectomies performed for leiomyomas (n = 13), ovarian cysts or tumors (n = 12), adenomyosis (n = 3), or en dometriosis (n = 2), were examined in a similar manner. While VS38 ant ibody was found to label plasma cells, it also stained epithelial and stromal endometrial cells, thus reducing its usefulness in the identif ication of endometritis. In contrast, anti-CD38 showed strong labeling of plasma cells, enhancing their distinctive cytologic characteristic s but not significantly staining other endometrial components. Besides labeling plasma cells in all cases diagnosed as chronic endometritis, anti-CD38 identified plasma cells in three cases diagnosed previously as proliferative endometrium and allowed the definitive diagnosis of chronic inflammation in 17 cases diagnosed as ''probable chronic endom etritis'' on hematoxylin and eosin (H&E)-stained sections. None of 30 nonlesional endometrial samples from uteri removed for leiomyomas, ova rian cysts and tumors, or endometriosis revealed the presence of plasm a cells.