MICROSCOPY Vol.47▶No.1 2012
â– Reviews

Visualization of in situ Immune Responses

Kenjiro Matsuno and Hisashi Ueta

Abstract: In vivo, the integration of the complex cellular interactions takes place most efficiently within the organized architecture of secondary lymphoid organs. This review outlines both structures and molecules of rat secondary lymphoid organs that support trafficking of immune cells by a multicolor immunoenzyme staining technique using a panel of antibodies to rat cell and tissue markers. Cellular interactions during immune responses including the cluster formation, proliferative response are visualized in situ on tissue sections. This approach has a potential to discover truth in disease processes and host responses because it can directly observe the immune response in situ.

Key words: multicolor immunostaining, lymph node, immune cell trafficking, cluster formation and antigen presentation, graft-versus-host disease