Antigen-engaged B cells undergo chemotaxis toward the T zone and form motile conjugates with helper T cells.
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 microm/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.
Okada
Takaharu
T
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of California, San Francisco, California, USA.
Miller
Mark J
MJ
Parker
Ian
I
Krummel
Matthew F
MF
Neighbors
Margaret
M
Hartley
Suzanne B
SB
O'Garra
Anne
A
Cahalan
Michael D
MD
Cyster
Jason G
JG
D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D002450:Cell Communication / Q000276:immunology; D002634:Chemotaxis, Leukocyte / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D010047:Ovalbumin / Q000276:immunology; D054400:Receptors, CCR7; D019707:Receptors, Chemokine / Q000276:immunology; D006377:T-Lymphocytes, Helper-Inducer / Q000276:immunology*
C515370:CCR7 protein, human; D054400:Receptors, CCR7; D019707:Receptors, Chemokine; D010047:Ovalbumin