Summary
The ‘homing’ process of lymphoid cells in the developing palatine tonsil of the rabbit was investigated by culturing isolated embryonic tonsils in diffusion chambers on the chick chorioallantoic membrane. An analysis of the origin and fate of lymphoid cells in cultured tonsils from subsequent stages of development strongly supported the existence of the ‘homing’ mechanism for lymphoid cells, postulated on morphological data. From the 19th day of gestation there is an influx of motile lymphoid (stem) cells into the tonsillar primordium, reaching a peak between the 22nd and 24th day. Of these cells a large proportion is immobilized by mesenchymal cells and becomes sessile lymphoid cells which remain firmly attached to mesenchymal cells during culture. After the 24th day practically all sessile lymphoid cells lose their contact with the mesenchymal cells and migrate to the bottom of the diffusion chamber. This different behaviour of sessile lymphoid cells in cultured tonsils of later developmental stages may imply a functional differentiation of these cells. By comparing the fate of morphologically differentiated lymphoid cells in cultured palatine tonsils and thymus of rabbit embryos, the different nature of tonsil and thymus lymphocytes could be demonstrated.
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Acknowledgments: The author wishes to express his grattitude to Dr. W. van Iterson and Prof. Dr. H. L. Langevoort for their encouraging interest in this work and their helpful comments in the preparation of the manuscript; to Prof. Dr. J. van Limborgh and Dr. J. R. van Horn for tissue-grafting facilities in the Department of Anatomy and Embryology of the University of Amsterdam; to Miss C. van Steeg for her versatile and dedicated assistance; to Mrs. J. Raphaël-Snijer (photography), Mr. P. J. Barends (electron microscopy), Mr. J. H. D. Leutscher and Mr. S. Weinberg (drawings); to Miss A. Rijpperda Wierdsma, Mrs. G. Manyoky-van Goor and Dr. R. D. R. Birtwhistle for their help in the preparation of the English text.
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Leene, W. Homing of lymphoid cells in the developing palatine tonsil of the rabbit. Z. Zellforsch. 134, 65–84 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00307235
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00307235