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Updated: Aug 1, 2026

Ex vivo Imaging of T Cells in Murine Lymph Node Slices with Widefield and Confocal Microscopes
Published on: July 15, 2011
Visualization of specific B and T lymphocyte interactions in the lymph node
P Garside1, E Ingulli, R R Merica
1University of Glasgow, Department of Immunology, Western Infirmary, Glasgow, G11 6NT, United Kingdom.
Early events in the humoral immune response were visualized in lymph nodes by simultaneous tracking of antigen-specific CD4 T and B cells after immunization. The T cells were initially activated in the T cell areas when the B cells were still randomly dispersed in the B cell-rich follicles. Both populations then migrated to the edges of the follicles and interacted there, resulting in CD154-dependent B cell proliferation and germinal center formation. These results provide visual documentation of cognate T-B cell interactions and localize them to the follicular border.
Early events in the humoral immune response were visualized in lymph nodes by simultaneous tracking of antigen-specific CD4 T and B cells after immunization. The T cells were initially activated in the T cell areas when the B cells were still randomly dispersed in the B cell-rich follicles. Both populations then migrated to the edges of the follicles and interacted there, resulting in CD154-dependent B cell proliferation and germinal center formation. These results provide visual documentation of cognate T-B cell interactions and localize them to the follicular border.
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