| First Author | McDonald KG | Year | 2007 |
| Journal | Am J Pathol | Volume | 170 |
| Issue | 4 | Pages | 1229-40 |
| PubMed ID | 17392163 | Mgi Jnum | J:120122 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:3703926 | Doi | 10.2353/ajpath.2007.060817 |
| Citation | McDonald KG, et al. (2007) CC chemokine receptor 6 expression by B lymphocytes is essential for the development of isolated lymphoid follicles. Am J Pathol 170(4):1229-40 |
| abstractText | Isolated lymphoid follicles (ILFs) are organized lymphoid structures that facilitate the efficient interaction of antigen, antigen-presenting cells, and lymphocytes to generate controlled adaptive immune responses within the intestine. Because CC chemokine receptor 6 (CCR6) deficiency affects the generation of mucosal immune responses, we evaluated a potential role for CCR6 in the development of ILFs. We observed that CCR6 and its ligand CCL20 are highly expressed within ILFs and that B lymphocytes are the largest CCR6-expressing population within ILFs. ILF development was profoundly arrested in the absence of CCR6. Concordant with a block in ILF development at a stage corresponding to the influx of B lymphocytes, we observed that CCR6-deficient mice had a diminished population of intestinal B lymphocytes. Bone marrow reconstitution studies demonstrated that ILF development is dependent on CCR6-sufficient B lymphocytes, and adoptive transfers demonstrated that CCR6(-/-) B lymphocytes were inefficient at localizing to intestinal lymphoid structures. Paralleling these findings, we observed that CCR6-deficient mice had a reduced proportion of Peyer's patch B lymphocytes and an associated re-duction in the number and size of Peyer's patch follicular domes. These observations define an essential role for CCR6 expression by B lymphocytes in localizing to intestinal lymphoid structures and in ILF development. |
