ARTICLE

The Three-dimensional Structure of Human Splenic White Pulp Compartments

Correspondence to: Birte Steiniger, Inst. of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Robert-Koch-Str. 6, D-35033 Marburg, Germany. E-mail: steinigb@mailer.uni-marburg.de

The precise arrangement of B- and T-lymphocytes in the different compartments of the human splenic white pulp is still largely unknown. We therefore performed a 3D reconstruction of 150 serial sections of a representative adult human spleen alternately stained for CD3 and CD20. The results indicate that the T-cell regions of human spleens may be interrupted by B-cell follicles. Therefore, there is no continuous periarteriolar lymphatic T-cell sheath (PALS) around white pulp arterioles. An arteriole may be surrounded by T-lymphocytes at one level, then run across a follicle without any T-cells around, and finally re-enter a T-cell region. T- and B-cell compartments are intricately interdigitated in the human splenic white pulp. CD4⁺ T-lymphocytes and the typical fibroblasts of the T-cell region may extend as a thin shell at the follicular surface within the marginal zone. On the other hand, IgD⁺⁺ B-cells continue from the follicular outer marginal zone along the surface of the T-cell region. Our findings indicate that the microanatomy of the splenic white pulp differs between humans and rodents. This may have consequences for the immigration of recirculating lymphocytes and for initial interactions among antigen-specific T- and B-lymphocytes. (J Histochem Cytochem 51:655–663, 2003)

Key Words: human spleen, white pulp, T-cell regions, follicles, marginal zone, CD3, CD20, CCL21

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