title: Preference of lymphocyte-homing to high endothelial venules in palatine tonsils of musk shrew (Suncus murinus).
abstract: We studied the lymphocyte-homing to palatine tonsils of the musk shrew, a new experimental animal originally developed in Japan. The tonsils of the animals have typically high endothelial venules (HEV) in the parafollicular region. The in vivo migration test showed that blood-circulating lymphocytes were able to home to the tonsils through the HEV. The in vitro lymphocyte-HEV binding assay clearly indicated the binding preference of the lymphocytes to be the tonsillar HEV. First, binding of B cells to the tonsillar HEV was seen to a greater extent than that of T cells, which was consistent with the result in the assay of Peyer's patch. Second, binding of lymphocytes from axillar and inguinal lymph nodes was similar to that of lymphocytes from the mesenteric lymph nodes, which differed from the result in the assay of Peyer's patch. These findings suggest that, in the musk shrew, the regulation of lymphocyte-homing through the HEV is different in the tonsil and Peyer's patch, at least in part. These homing properties of musk shrew tonsils may reflect their immunological role in the local response against oral antigens.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, Kansai Shinkyu College, Kansai Academy of Medical Science, Osaka, 590-04 Japan.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tohya
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kimura
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001402:B-Lymphocytes; D001665:Binding Sites; D002465:Cell Movement; D005453:Fluorescence; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology; D008297:Male; D014066:Palatine Tonsil / Q000166:cytology*; D051381:Rats; D016201:Receptors, Lymphocyte Homing; D013601:T-Lymphocytes; D014699:Venules / Q000166:cytology*
chemical_list: D016201:Receptors, Lymphocyte Homing