If the blood test showed plasma cells, then not so long ago you encountered a virus, bacteria, or in the body there is an inflammatory process. This information can be tracked even in a general blood test, and a competent therapist can easily determine the cause that could provoke the appearance of plasmocytes in the body.
Why do plasma cells appear in the blood?
Do not think that plasmocytes are foreign bacteria that infected the body. Plasma cells are the reaction of our body to an external pathogen, but they are produced from B-lymphocytes, which means they are in the lymph nodes, red bone marrow and spleen constantly. The main function of these organs is the production of antibodies, that is, immunoglobulins. This process looks something like this:
- When the pathological process develops in the body, the brain sends signals to the places of accumulation of B-lymphocytes.
- After receiving a signal indicating a specific antigen, the B-lymphocyte settles in the lymph nodes and begins to transform into a plasmacyte, which is necessary to eliminate this kind of problem.
- At the end of the transformation process, the plasmocyte proceeds to synthesize antibodies to said antigen.
- Most plasma cells live about 3-4 days, after which they die, but some go into the waiting phase. These plasma cells are concentrated in the bone marrow of a person. These memory cells are activated as soon as the antigens of the same type are again in the body. The lifetime of such plasmocytes can be 40-50 years. They provide resistance to some of the infectious diseases that have been transferred.
What do plasma cells show in the blood test?
Normally, a general blood test should not contain plasma cells, children are allowed single indicators of these cells. If the plasma cells are fixed in adults, then it was transferred, or at the moment, one of these diseases is actual:
- rubella;
- measles;
- chickenpox ;
- mononucleosis;
- ARVI, acute respiratory infections, influenza;
- serum sickness;
- septic conditions;
- infectious diseases of various origin;
- infection with bacteria streptococcus, staphylococcus, candida and others;
- autoimmune diseases;
- tuberculosis;
- oncological diseases;
- plasmacytoma;
- exposure to ionizing radiation.
If plasma cells are elevated, additional tests and symptomatology should be performed to establish a diagnosis. However, you should not worry too much - after a cold, for example, the plasma cell counts persist for several days.