The bone marrow (BM) is the major production site of B lymphocytes. The newly formed small B lymphocytes migrate, after a maturation period of one or more days, to the peripheral lymphoid organs (spleen, lymph nodes, tonsils, etc.), where they can be activated by antigen (after which they can differentiate into antibody-forming cells) or die. According to this view, most of the immunoglobul in(lg)- and antibodyproducing eel ls are considered to be confined to the peripheral lymphoid organs. However, publications have appeared during the last ninety years presenting evidence that antibody formation can also take place in the BM (Chapter 3). This thesis further investigates this phenomenon with mice as experimental animals. After primary immunization of mice with thymus-dependent (TO) antigens, antibody formation almost exclusively takes place in the peripheral lymphoid organs. However, after secondary immunization with the same antigen, substantial numbers of antibody-producing plaqueforming eel ls (PFC) are found not only in the peripheral lymphoid organs, but also in the BM. The first phase of the secondary response, about 1 week of duration, is characterized by much higher numbers of PFC in the spleen and/or lymph nodes than in the BM. But after this first phase, the PFC response in the BM is much higher than in al 1 other lymphoid organs together

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Het onderzoek werd mogelijk gemaakt door financiele steun van de Stichting voor Medisch Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (FUNGO).
R. Benner (Robbert) , O. Vos
Erasmus University Rotterdam
hdl.handle.net/1765/32115
Erasmus MC: University Medical Center Rotterdam

Koch, G. (1982, May 14). The mechanism of antibody formation in mouse bone marrow. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/1765/32115