[HTML][HTML] Antigen-engaged B cells undergo chemotaxis toward the T zone and form motile conjugates with helper T cells

T Okada, MJ Miller, I Parker, MF Krummel… - PLoS …, 2005 - journals.plos.org
T Okada, MJ Miller, I Parker, MF Krummel, M Neighbors, SB Hartley, A O'Garra, MD Cahalan
PLoS biology, 2005journals.plos.org
Interactions between B and T cells are essential for most antibody responses, but the
dynamics of these interactions are poorly understood. By two-photon microscopy of intact
lymph nodes, we show that upon exposure to antigen, B cells migrate with directional
preference toward the B-zone–T-zone boundary in a CCR7-dependent manner, through a
region that exhibits a CCR7-ligand gradient. Initially the B cells show reduced motility, but
after 1 d, motility is increased to approximately 9 μm/min. Antigen-engaged B cells pair with …
Interactions between B and T cells are essential for most antibody responses, but the dynamics of these interactions are poorly understood. By two-photon microscopy of intact lymph nodes, we show that upon exposure to antigen, B cells migrate with directional preference toward the B-zone–T-zone boundary in a CCR7-dependent manner, through a region that exhibits a CCR7-ligand gradient. Initially the B cells show reduced motility, but after 1 d, motility is increased to approximately 9 μm/min. Antigen-engaged B cells pair with antigen-specific helper T cells for 10 to more than 60 min, whereas non-antigen-specific interactions last less than 10 min. B cell–T cell conjugates are highly dynamic and migrate extensively, being led by B cells. B cells occasionally contact more than one T cell, whereas T cells are strictly monogamous in their interactions. These findings provide evidence of lymphocyte chemotaxis in vivo, and they begin to define the spatiotemporal cellular dynamics associated with T cell–dependent antibody responses.
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