Recruitment of memory B cells to lymph nodes remote from the site of immunization requires an inflammatory stimulus

Abstract

Successful recall Ab responses require recruitment of quiescent memory B cells to secondary lymphoid organs. However, the cellular dynamics of memory cells responding to local antigenic challenge at lymphoid sites distal from the initial Ag encounter are not well understood. We show in this study that memory B cells generated following s.c. immunization in one footpad generate secondary responses to soluble Ag given i.p. but not to Ag given s.c. in the contralateral footpad unless LPS is coadministered. Memory B cells do not express CD62L, and CD62L(-ve) cells cannot enter lymph nodes unless LPS-mediated inflammation is induced there. Functional TLR4 is required on the B cells, as well as on non-B cells, in the lymph node to achieve full recruitment. Furthermore, splenectomized mice fail to respond to such inflammatory s.c. challenge in contralateral footpads, unlike lymphadenectomized mice lacking the original draining lymph nodes. Splenectomized mice also fail to respond to i.p. challenge with soluble Ag. Together, these data indicate that, unlike the central memory pool of T cells, which circulates through resting lymph nodes, the majority of long-lived memory B cells are spleen resident and require inflammatory signals for mounting recall responses at distal challenge sites.