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Journal of Virology, June 2001, p. 5416-5420, Vol. 75, No. 11
The Edward Jenner Institute for Vaccine
Research, Compton, Newbury, Berkshire, United Kingdom
Received 28 November 2000/Accepted 27 February 2001
Nasal immunoglobulin A provides an initial defense against inhaled
respiratory pathogens. However, it is not known whether the
nasal-associated lymphoid tissues (NALT) are able to mount an effective
long-lasting pathogen-specific immune response, nor is it known whether
functional differences exist between the organized NALT (O-NALT) and
the diffuse NALT lining the nasal passages (D-NALT). Here we show that
although both the O-NALT and the D-NALT are capable of producing
virus-specific antibody in response to influenza virus infection, the
frequency of specific antibody-forming cells in the D-NALT is much
greater than the frequency observed in the O-NALT. Furthermore, we show
that the D-NALT but not the O-NALT is the site of long-term
virus-specific humoral immunity which lasts for the life of the animal.
These results indicate that the D-NALT is not only the major effector
site of the NALT but also the site of local long-term specific antibody production.
0022-538X/01/$04.00+0 DOI: 10.1128/JVI.75.11.5416-5420.2001
Copyright © 2001, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Nasal-Associated Lymphoid Tissue Is a Site of
Long-Term Virus-Specific Antibody Production following Respiratory
Virus Infection of Mice
*
Corresponding author. Mailing address: The Edward
Jenner Institute, Compton, Newbury, Berkshire RG20 7NN, United Kingdom. Phone: 44-1635-577924. Fax: 44-1635-577901. E-mail:
sam.hou{at}jenner.ac.uk.
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