Rapid immunosurveillance by recirculating lymphocytes in the rat intestine: critical role of unsulfated sialyl-Lewis X on high endothelial venules of the Peyer's patches.

Naive lymphocytes systemically recirculate for immunosurveillance inspecting foreign antigens and pathogens in the body. Trafficking behavior such as the migration pathway and transit time within the gastrointestinal tract, however, remains to be elucidated. Rat thoracic duct lymphocytes (TDLs) were transferred to a congeneic host that had undergone mesenteric lymphadenectomy.