Steuerung der Lymphozyten-Migration und des funktionellen Aufbaus lymphatischer Organe durch das Chemokinsystem

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The development of an adaptive immune response requires wellcoordinated mechanisms in order to navigate circulating immune cells through peripheral tissues and into secondary lymphoid organs. There is strong experimental evidence that chemokines and their G protein-coupled receptors are responsible for recruiting cells involved in inflammatory processes as well as for homeostatic control of leukocyte traffic and functional compartmentalization of lymphoid organs. By analyzing mice deficient for chemokine receptors CXCR5 or CCR7, we could identify both receptors as the principal regulators of lymphoid tissue-specific migration of B and T lymphocytes and dendritic cells. The proposed research project is aimed to elucidate further the function of the homeostatic chemokine systems in vivo and to explore downstream signaling decisions of lymphocyte traffic mediated by chemokines. Based on established mouse strains deficient for chemokine receptors, animal models and reconstitution experiments will further contribute to our understanding of the molecular codes determining the selective migration and homing of lymphocyte subsets in certain microenvironmental settings of normal and pathophysiological immune responses.