Lymphocyte Biology Section, Laboratory of Immune System Biology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, 4 Memorial Dr, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
Science Education Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, 4000 Jones Bridge Rd, Chevy Chase, MD 20815, USA.
J Cell Sci. 2020 Mar 6;133(5):jcs241828. doi: 10.1242/jcs.241828.
A hallmark of the mammalian immune system is its ability to respond efficiently to foreign antigens without eliciting an inappropriate response to self-antigens. Furthermore, a robust immune response requires the coordination of a diverse range of cells present at low frequencies within the host. This problem is solved, in part, by concentrating antigens, antigen-presenting cells and antigen-responsive cells in lymph nodes (LNs). Beyond housing these cell types in one location, LNs are highly organized structures consisting of pre-positioned cells within well-defined microanatomical niches. In this Cell Science at a Glance article and accompanying poster, we outline the key cellular populations and components of the LN microenvironment that are present at steady state and chronicle the dynamic changes in these elements following an immune response. This review highlights the LN as a staging ground for both innate and adaptive immune responses, while providing an elegant example of how structure informs function.
哺乳动物免疫系统的一个特点是能够有效地对外来抗原作出反应，而不会对自身抗原产生不适当的反应。此外，强大的免疫反应需要协调宿主中存在的多种低频率细胞。这个问题部分通过将抗原、抗原呈递细胞和抗原反应性细胞集中在淋巴结 (LN) 中得到解决。LN 不仅将这些细胞类型集中在一个位置，而且还是由预先定位在明确定义的微解剖龛内的细胞组成的高度组织化结构。在这篇细胞科学概览文章和配套海报中，我们概述了 LN 中存在的稳态下的关键细胞群体和 LN 微环境的组成部分，并记录了免疫反应后这些成分的动态变化。这篇综述强调了 LN 作为先天和适应性免疫反应的一个阶段，同时提供了一个结构如何决定功能的优雅范例。
