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Pathology of the Lymphoid System

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Abstract

The immune system is present throughout the body and functions to provide protection against disease and maintain homeostasis. The immune system is often one of the first organ systems to be exposed to new drugs, therapies, and other xenobiotics. Such exposures can have direct and indirect toxic effects on immune form and function which have historically been characterized as either immunosuppression or stimulation. However, with the advent and extraordinary increase in therapies that impact, target, or modulate the immune system, a more detailed and nuanced evaluation of the nature of immunomodulation is necessary to evaluate the safety and efficacy of such therapies. In this chapter, we provide information regarding the functional anatomy and physiology, appropriate sample collection and evaluation, and mechanisms of toxicity in immune (lymphoid) organs. Building upon this, we then provide additional practical information including the structural, functional, and background changes seen during pathologic evaluation of the immune system, the importance of integrating pathology with other immunotoxicity endpoints, and key regulatory considerations that are all useful assessing the effects of new drugs, therapies, and other xenobiotics on the immune system.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Charles River Laboratories, Inc., Ashland, OH, USA

    Tracey L. Papenfuss

  2. Translational Medicine, Astrazeneca, Gaithersburg, MD, USA

    Marlon C. Rebelatto

  3. GEMpath, Inc., Longmont, CO, USA

    Brad Bolon

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  1. Tracey L. Papenfuss
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  2. Marlon C. Rebelatto
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  3. Brad Bolon
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Correspondence to Tracey L. Papenfuss .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. North Carolina Laboratory, Experimental Pathology Laboratories, Inc., Durham, NC, USA

    Thomas J. Steinbach

  2. Charles River Laboratories, Inc., Mattawan, MI, USA

    Daniel J. Patrick

  3. MEC Regulatory and Toxicology Consulting, LLC, Moorpark, CA, USA

    Mary Ellen Cosenza

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Papenfuss, T.L., Rebelatto, M.C., Bolon, B. (2019). Pathology of the Lymphoid System. In: Steinbach, T., Patrick, D., Cosenza, M. (eds) Toxicologic Pathology for Non-Pathologists. Humana, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-9777-0_10

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