Lymph node macrophages and reticulum cells in the immune response. I. The primary response to paratyphoid vaccine.

The reactivity of rat lymph node macrophages and reticulum cells has been studied in relation to the course of the immune response. Special attention was paid to the interdigitating cells (IDC) in the paracortex and the dendritic reticulum cells (DRC) in the germinal centre. Different types of macrophage predominate in the three different phases of the immune response. In the induction phase exudate macrophages predominate. They transform their morphology depending on the micro-environment in which they settle. These cells may contain Birbeck granules. Our experiments suggest, that these granules are immunologically specific organelles, associated with the induction of a primary humoral response. In the proliferation phase transitional cells between newly arrived macrophages and IDC predominate in the paracortex and the number of IDC decreases. In the memory phase IDC repopulate this thymus dependent area, indicating that the characteristic morphology of these cells results from the immune response in the T cell environment. The DRC are specifically related to the germinal centre, the morphological transformation of this peculiar reticulum cell occurs under the influence of the germinal centre reaction. The germinal centre reaction originates by tingible body macrophages (TBM).