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Science 3 December 1999:
Vol. 286. no. 5446, p. 1813
DOI: 10.1126/science.286.5446.1813c
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This Week in Science

Figure 1
The immune system that develops along the length of the small intestine consists of organized lymphoid tissue called Peyer's patches. Within these patches are M cells, which allow microbes to pass into the lymphoid tissue where they initiate an immune response or gain a foothold for infection. Golovkina et al. (p. 1965) report that mice lacking B lymphocytes were deficient in M cells, and that M cells were restored by exposure to B cells. The resistance of mice with no B cells to infection by murine mammary tumor virus was found to be due to the deficiency of M cells rather than the direct lack of B cells. Thus, B cells not only participate in immune responses but are involved in the generation of the organs for mucosal immunity.




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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)