Transfer of memory cells into antigen-pretreated hosts. I. Functional detection of migration sites for antigen-specific B cells.

The distribution of functionally active hapten-specific B memory cells was investigated. Using antigen-pretreated lethally irradiated recipients, a marked accumulation of adoptively transferred B memory cells was demonstrated in lymph nodes containing specific antigen, but not in lymph nodes containing non-cross-reacting hapten conjugates. This difference in responsiveness between lymph nodes containing specific versus those containing nonspecific antigen developed over a period 3–5 days after memory cell transfer. The localization of antigen specific cells was T-cell independent; both carrier-primed T helper cells and specific antigenic challenge, however, were required to trigger the localized B memory cells into antibody production. Specific B memory cell accumulation did not result from an expansion of the antigen-specific cell population due to local proliferation induced by antigen depots in the lymph nodes to challenge. Rather, the results indicated that recirculating B memory cells had progressively accumulated through retention by antigen in the lymph node. These findings suggest that, in the absence of T-cell help and specific antigenic challenge, B memory cells accumulate in lymphoid tissue (follicles) without responding and provide persistent local memory for the humoral immune response.