T-cell recirculation in the sheep: migratory properties of cells from lymph nodes.

T lymphocytes derived from different sources in sheep were compared for their ability to recirculate from blood to lymph. Nylon wool columns were used to prepare T-cell-enriched populations from efferent intestinal lymph, efferent prescapular lymph and from cell suspensions of mesenteric lymph nodes and prescapular lymph nodes. With each animal, T cells from two of the above sources were labelled in vitro, one population with fluorescein isothiocyanate the other with rhodamine isothiocyanate; both populations were returned to the animal at the same time by intravenous injection. The intestinal lymph and prescapular lymph were continuously monitored to compare the recirculating properties of the two populations of T cells. This technique led to confirmation of the earlier reports in sheep of a preferential recovery of intestinal lymph T cells and of prescapular lymph T cells in the lymph from which the cells were originally collected. This phenomenon was much less evident with T cells from mesenteric nodes and prescapular nodes and in a number of experiments a random pattern of recirculation occurred. It is concluded that there are differences in the composition of the T-cell population in a node compared with that of the lymph draining the node. The advantages of using fluorescently-labelled cells to study lymphocyte migration are discussed.