1. The Dispersal of Mucosal Memory B Cells
- Author
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Gregory J. Babcock, David A. Thorley-Lawson, Lauri L. Laichalk, Richard B. Freeman, and Donna Hochberg
- Subjects
Pathology ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Immunology ,Spleen ,Biology ,medicine.disease ,Ebv infection ,Virus ,medicine.anatomical_structure ,Lymphatic system ,Infectious Diseases ,Immunity ,Virus latency ,medicine ,Mesenteric lymph nodes ,Immunology and Allergy ,Lymph - Abstract
We have used latent infection with the human herpesvirus Epstein-Barr virus to track the dispersal of memory B cells from the mucosal lymphoid tissue of Waldeyer's ring (tonsils/adenoids). EBV is evenly distributed between the memory compartments of Waldeyer's ring and the peripheral blood. However, it has an approximately 20-fold higher preference for Waldeyer's ring over the spleen or mesenteric lymph nodes. These observations are consistent with a model whereby the virus preferentially establishes persistent infection within memory B cells from Waldeyer's ring. The virus then colonizes the entire peripheral lymphoid system, at a low level, by trafficking with these memory B cells as they circulate through the body and back to Waldeyer's ring. This pathway may reflect that of normal memory B cells derived from nasopharyngeal and other mucosal lymph nodes.
- Published
- 2002
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