Immune response against P815X2 mastocytoma growing in syngeneic DBA/2 mice. III. Morphometric assessment of the dynamic changes in post-capillary venules as regulatory elements of lymphocyte recirculation in tumor-draining lymph nodes

To evaluate the dynamics of lymphocyte recirculation in tumor-bearing mice, the post-capillary venules (PCV) were subjected to quantitative measurements in the regional (RLN) and nonregional (NRLN) lymph nodes during the progression of P815X2 mastocytoma in syngeneic DBA/2 mice. Mice were sacrificed at two-day intervals, and RLNs and NRLNs were analysed for their content of B- and T-lymphocytes and their subsets, demonstrated by immunoperoxidase technique using monoclonal antibodies; Anti-Thy 1.2 (T cells), Anti-Lyt 1 (T-helper cells), Anti-Lyt 2 (T-suppressor cells), and Anti-I-Ad (B cell) antigens, separately in the B- and T-cell compartments. In the PCVs, migration index (MI) and endothelial height (Hend) were measured. There was a biphasic elevation of MI in the RLNs, as compared with only a late rise in the NRLNs, reaching the peak (1.54) on day 14. In RLNs, there was a sharp reduction in Hend starting from the values (6.37 microns) on day 2, down to 4.79 microns on day 8. This is followed by rapid elevation close to the second-day values, e.g. 6.07 on day 10. The changes in MI paralleled the early influx of B cells, as evidenced by the decrease of Thy 1.2+/I-Ad+ cell ratio and a late recruitment of T cells as indicated by the elevation of that ratio as well as the Hend values in both the RLNs and NRLNs. The present experiment shows that morphology of PCVs in the RLNs and in NRLNs of P815X2-bearing mice is subjected to alterations reflecting the dynamics of lymphocyte recruitment into these organs. When combined with lymphocyte subset enumeration using monoclonal antibodies, the quantitative analysis of the PCVs permits predictions to be made on the recirculatory activity of these cell populations during the tumor progression.