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Science 10 December 1999:
Vol. 286. no. 5447, p. 2041
DOI: 10.1126/science.286.5447.2041h
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This Week in Science
How do B cells and T cells coordinate their movements so that lymphocytes with the appropriate specificities are at the right place at the right time? Specific interactions do occur, and Cyster (p. 2098) reviews how the chemokine highway helps direct traffic. Chemokines act as attractants and are expressed in temporally and physically discrete fashion. The receptors for chemokines are expressed only by those cells best able to mount an immune response. A specific case of immune cell localization is presented by Randolph et al. (p. 2159), who report that different subsets of T cells tend to be in discrete locations in the spleen, an organ that also hosts B cells. This T cell localization depends on the chemokine receptor CCR7, a receptor for the chemokine SLC, which TH1 cells express. If TH2 cells are forced to express CCR7, not only do they migrate to the wrong spots in the spleen, but they no longer provide help for B cells. Thus, CCR7 seems critical for appropriate localization of T cells to ensure an adequate immune response.
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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)
