Macqueen H A, Waights V, Pond C M
Department of Biology, The Open University, Milton Keynes, UK.
J Anat. 1999 Jan;194 ( Pt 1)(Pt 1):33-8. doi: 10.1046/j.1469-7580.1999.19410033.x.
We report a change in the vascularisation of the adipose depots surrounding the popliteal lymph node that has, and the contralateral node that has not, been exposed to a simulated immune challenge. The percentage of the depot that consists of vessels, as measured by image analysis, decreases over a period of 2 d after immune stimulus, then increases in a biphasic manner over the next 2-3 wk. By 1 mo after the stimulus, the vascularisation has returned to baseline values. The adipose tissue surrounding both the stimulated and the unstimulated lymph nodes shows a similar pattern, but the unstimulated depot lags by 3-6 d in reaching its maximum vascularisation. These data support the hypothesis that perinodal adipose tissue is involved in peripheral immune responses.