Homing Pattern of Newly Formed Splenic Lymphocytes

Abstract

Pig and human spleens produce large numbers of lymphocytes and plasma cells (1,2). Many newly formed lymphocytes leave the spleen and home to different lymphoid and non-lymphoid organs (1). In mice the spleen was essential in producing memory cells for antibody production in the bone marrow after a booster injection (3). In the present study a technique for selective labeling of the pig spleen was used to study the fate of spleen-derived lymphocytes in other organs, to classify the emigrants and to localize them in lymphoid organs 1 to 4 d. after labeling the spleen exclusively. In a second experiment the rate of splenic lymphocyte production and immigration of newly formed lymphocytes was studied after a secondary response to i.v. sheep red blood cells.