Control mechanism of lymphocyte traffic. Altered distribution of 51Cr-labeled mouse lymph node cells pretreated in vitro with lipopolysaccharide.

The effect of in vitro treatment of mouse lymph node cell populations with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on their migration in syngeneic recipients was studied. LPS-exposed cells had a decreased lymph node localization and an increased spleen distribution when compared to control untreated cells, after intravenous injection into syngeneic recipients. This effect of LPS on cell traffic was maximal at 24 h and could not be detected at either 1 or 72 h after cell transfer. These changes induced on cell distribution by LPS treatment are interpreted as the consequence of a modified interaction between the circulating lymphocytes and the resident cells within the spleen of the recipients.