Immunocytochemical Studies of the Vascular Endothelial Cells in Human Peyer’s Patches and Solitary Lymphoid Follicles

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Abstract
The organized mucosal lymphoid tissues of the mammalian small intestine comprise Peyer’s patches and lymphoid follicles. They are recognized as an essential component of mucosal organs in which mucosal immune responses are generated. Several recent reports have suggested that Peyer’s patches routinely remove large numbers of lymphocytes from the blood circulation, perhaps because the postcapillary venules (PCV) in the thymus-dependent areas have a specialized high endothelium to which these lymphocytes adhere and then penetrate (1). In addition, since PCV are a unique vascular site for the selective passage of not only T- (2), but also of B-lymphocytes (3), the specific interaction between lymphocytes and PCV may be mediated through surface binding molecules (4). Lymphocytes-PCV interaction has primarily been defined by an in vitro assay, but the morphology, ultra-structure and immunohistochemistry of these lymphocytes and PCV have been studied less extensively.