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Recirculating lymphocytes traffic continuously between blood and lymph moving by a route that takes them through various lymphoid organs in the body. Though the cells circulate freely in the bloodstream and have opportunity for interaction elsewhere, they are not promiscuous but faith fully seek out those blood vessels that provide entry into these tissues (1-15). Lymphocytes gain access to lymph nodes and mucosal-associated lymphoid tissues, e.g. Peyer's patches, via a system of specialized mic rovascular structures, the high endothelial cell venules (HEV) (4). Such interactions are crucial for recirculation and reassortment of lymphocytes because the vascular endothelium is the first barrier these cells must nego tiate as they move from blood into tissue. Prime .importance is therefore attached to the understanding of lymphocyte-high endothelial cell inter actions. This review thus focuses on properties of lymphocytes and high endothelium that play a role in their affinity and specificity for each other.
Woodruff et al. (Wed,) studied this question.