A putative chemokine receptor, BLR1, directs B cell migration to defined lymphoid organs and specific anatomic compartments of the spleen

The role of the BLR1 G protein-coupled receptor in the migration of B and T lymphocytes into splenic follicles was analyzed in mice with mutated blr1 genes. The mutant mice exhibited defective inguinal lymph nodes and Payer's patches including the aberrant formation of primary follicles in the spleen and germinal centers (GC). Furthermore, the B cells of the mutants did not migrate into the splenic follicles due to the absence of functional GC and BLR1.