Abstract
Lymph nodes (LNs) are secondary lymphoid organs that function as the first line of defense against invasive foreign substances. Within the LNs, different types of immune cells are strategically localized to induce immune responses efficiently. Such a sophisticated tissue structure is a complex of functionally specialized niches, constructed by a variety of fibroblastic stromal cells. Elucidating the characteristics and functions of the niches and stromal cells will facilitate comprehension of the immune response induced in the LNs. Three recent studies offered novel insights into specialized stromal cells. In our discussion of these surprisingly diverse stromal cells, we will integrate information from these studies to improve knowledge about the structure and niches of LN.
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Acknowledgements
This work was funded by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C) (A. Takeuchi, 19K07603) and a Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research (T. Katakai, 16K15287) from The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan.
Author’s note: Due to a significant delay in the publication process caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the content of this paper is as of April 2020.
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Takeuchi, A., Ozawa, M., Cui, G., Ikuta, K., Katakai, T. (2021). Lymph Node Stromal Cells: Diverse Meshwork Structures Weave Functionally Subdivided Niches. In: Nagasawa, T. (eds) Bone Marrow Niche. Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology, vol 434. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-86016-5_5
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