Fig. 5
Mutation frequencies in tumor-associated macrophages and circulating monocytes. a The mutation frequencies (× 10−3) of the heavy chains IgM and IgG as well as the light chains Igκ and Igλ of tumor-associated macrophages and circulating monocytes are demonstrated. For all four Ig classes higher mutation rates were found in TAM than in circulating monocytes. The mutation frequencies were clustered in different categories depending on the number of mutations per VH region gene (0; 0.1–20; 20.1–40; > 40). b The overall mutation frequencies of IgM and IgG heavy chains in monocytes/macrophages and B cells are shown. The investigated tumor-associated macrophages and circulating monocytes show the same distribution of mutations as their corresponding B cells. In all investigated cell types, the mutation frequency for IgG is significantly higher (p > 0.01) than for IgM