Formation of two types of germinal centers during immune response in chicken spleen.

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Abstract
The immune response was analyzed immunohistochemically in the chicken spleen after i.v. injection of alum-aggregated bovine serum albumin (A-BSA). From about 12 h after primary injection, anti-bursa serum (ABS) positive lymphoblasts were observed in the periellipsoidal lymphatic tissue (PEL). One day later, ABS-positive lymphoblasts were also observed in the periarterial lymphatic tissue (PAL) and perivenous lymphatic tissue (PVL). The lymphoblasts formed cell clumps and formed the germinal center (GC), suggesting that ABS-positive lymphoblasts in PEL might be origin cells of GC. Two types of GC appeared in the spleen after antigen injections. Type I GC with many antigen presenting dendritic cells (DC) were formed in the early stage after antigen injection, while type II GC without antigen presenting DC were formed later. The quantitative change of antibody producing cells (APC) agreed with that of type I GC but not that of type II GC. Type II GC were characterized by the antigen capture immediately after secondary injection and by the appearance of many lymphocytes bearing anti-BSA antibody. Type I and II GC might be precursors of APC and memory cells, respectively.