The origin of follicular dendritic cells in the mouse and the mechanism of trapping of immune complexes on them

F1----parental bone marrow chimeras between CBA and B10 mice were used to show that even after 1 year follicular dendritic cells (FDC), also termed dendritic reticular cells, are not derived from bone marrow stem cells. However clusters of cells wrapped in the dendritic processes of FDC, isolated by enzyme digestion of the spleen contain B cells originating from donor marrow. This implies that evidence for the presence of antigens such as Ia-like detected by others (Gerdes, J. and Stein, H., Clin. Exp. Immunol. 1982. 48: 348) by immunohistology in or on FDC clusters should be interpreted with caution. Deposition of immune complexes on mouse spleen FDC depends upon the presence of a radio- and cyclophosphamide-sensitive population of cells, although FDC themselves are resistant to such treatments. After whole body irradiation the capacity to localize fluorescein isothiocyanate-labeled aggregated human gamma globulin can be restored by normal or T-deprived spleen cells, but restoration requires an interval of more than 1 though less than 5 days. These findings are compatible with the evidence of Gray et al., Eur. J. Immunol. 1984. 14: 47, that in the rat immune complexes are transported to FDC by a sessile population of marginal zone lymphocytes, as first suggested by Brown et al., Immunology 1973. 24: 955.