Lymphocyte migration in the mouse. II. Differential B and T-lymphocyte migration into a site of chronic inflammation.

Different patterns of B and T-lymphocyte migration were observed in normal mice and in animals with a site of chronic inflammation. The early migration of lymphocytes into a site of chronic inflammation, induced by sensitisation and challenge to Bordetella pertussis vaccine (BPV), comprised mainly B-cells. Subsequently, a greater influx of T-cells occurred as the inflammation progressed. The lymphocyte population in the inflammatory exudate was composed of equal numbers of B and T-cells throughout the 30 day time course. Preferential migration of B-cells to Peyer's patches (PP) and T-cells to peripheral lymph nodes (PLN) occurred in both normal mice and animals with a site of chronic inflammation. In contrast, B-cells migrated preferentially to the spleen in normal mice while in mice with chronic inflammation a greater migration of T-cell was observed. These findings indicate the presence of homing receptors for PP on B-cells and of PLN homing receptors on T-cells, with their distribution unaffected during the development of the inflammatory response. In contrast, the inflammatory process did alter the type of cell migrating into the spleen which may reflect an increase in antigen presentation in the mice challenged with BPV.