Micro-tunnels accelerate the release of antibodies into the bloodstream

The team of Marc BAJENOFF, from the Centre d’Immunologie de Marseille-Luminy (CNRS/Inserm/Aix-Marseille University), in collaboration with a team of the San Raffaele Institute led by Matteo Iannacone, has discovered that the microarchitecture of lymph nodes allows the release of antibodies to the bloodstream, a mandatory step to their delivery to the infected site. These antibodies are transported via collagen micro-conduits within the lymph node, in the manner of a tunnel or a water pipe. The results were published on November 14, 2018 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine.

Legend : Fluorescence microscopy image of an immunized lymph node in which the antibodies (in white) secreted by lymphocytes are imaged travelling into the collagen micro-conduits (in green).

© Guilhem Thierry/CIML

Reference
The conduit system exports locally secreted IgM from lymph nodes. Guilhem R. Thierry, Mirela Kuka, Marco De Giovanni, Isabelle Mondor, Nicolas Brouilly, Matteo Iannacone, and Marc Bajénoff. Journal of Experimental Medicine, le 14 novembre 2018.
 

Researcher Contact
Centre d’Immunologie de Marseille-Luminy
 
Marc Bajénoff