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Circulation and migration of small blood lymphocytes in the rat: II. Study of the lymphocyte selective migration by light and electron microscopic autoradiography
Author(s) -
Schnuda N. D.
Publication year - 1979
Publication title -
american journal of hematology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.456
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1096-8652
pISSN - 0361-8609
DOI - 10.1002/ajh.2830070104
Subject(s) - spleen , bone marrow , lymph node , lymph , lymphocyte , pathology , lymphatic system , ileum , biology , marginal zone , lung , medicine , immunology , endocrinology , antibody , b cell
Fourteen male Wistar rats were the recipients of labeled small lymphocytes (1.5 × 10 7 each) collected from the peripheral blood of syngeneic donors. The migrating labeled lymphocytes were traced in the various organs from one to 60 minutes following their transfusion. Sections from the lymph nodes, bone marrow, spleen, thymus, ileum, liver, lung, and kidney were analyzed morphologically by autoradiographic studies. The results showed that some of the labeled small blood lymphocytes migrate to the lymph node and bone marrow as early as one minute following transfusion; their exodus from these two organs occurs within three minutes. In the case of the spleen, the lymphocytes did not migrate selectively to the marginal zone of the lymphoid follicles until ten minutes following transfusion. The electron microscopic study of the spleen and lymph node showed that the labeled lymphocytes selectively migrate to certain areas which consist of reticulum cells, macrophages, unlabeled lymphocytes, and plasma cells. The term “immunocompetent zones” is proposed for these areas because of the biological significance of this selective migration with reference to immunity.