Access to the spleen microenvironment through lymph shows local cytokine production, increased cell flux, and altered signaling of immune cells during lipopolysaccharide-induced acute inflammation.

The spleen is involved in fluid volume regulation, immune responses, and hematopoiesis. Yet, the composition of the fluid phase within the spleen microenviroment, the migratory routes of lymphocytes as well as the splenic response to bacterial endotoxin is incomplete. To address these issues, we isolated postnodal lymph in rats by cannulating an efferent lymphatic draining the spleen, and assessed the secretion of signaling substances during a septic response induced by LPS. Spleen lymph flow increased 8-fold after LPS exposure. The spleen exhibited a permeable microvasculature with low sieving of macromolecules that was absent after exposure to LPS. Furthermore, after LPS exposure the spleen contributed significantly to the production of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines, and experiments in splenectomized rats suggested it may induce a protracted inflammation because of a dominant role in IL-6 production. A significant amount of lymphocytes exited via lymphatics draining the spleen in control rats. LPS-induced inflammation resulted in increased T cell and reduced B cell subset fractions, and gave a significant increase in CD4(+) and CD8(+) subset T cell efflux and a reduced B cell efflux in spleen lymph. Exposure of leukocytes to the spleen microenvironment affected their signaling status, and by phosphorylation specific flow cytometry we could identify STAT3 and CREB as important mediators in the cellular signaling occurring during endotoxemia. We conclude that analysis of spleen lymph may unravel immune cell migration patterns and local signaling, and immune cells exit via lymph having acquired specific activation signatures after exposure to the spleen microenvironment.