Peritoneal cavity B-1 cells are believed to produce IgM natural Abs. We have used alpha1,3-galactosyltransferase-deficient (GalT(-/-)) mice, which, like humans, produce IgM natural Abs against the carbohydrate epitope Galalpha1,3Gal (Gal), to demonstrate that peritoneal cavity B-1b cells with anti-Gal receptors produce anti-Gal IgM Abs only after LPS stimulation. Likewise, peritoneal cavity cel...

The peritoneal cavity is subdivided into supracolic and infracolic compartments by transverse colon and its mesocolon. The supracolic compartment contains the liver, spleen, stomach, and lesser omentum. The infracolic compartment contains the coils of small bowel surrounded by ascending, transverse, and descending colon and the paracolic gutters. The imaging of different compartments is possibl...

A synergistic immune response to foreign erythrocytes may be induced in heavily irradiated mice injected with a mixture of isologous cells obtained from marrow and from the peritoneal cavity. Under appropriate conditions, homologous or heterologous peritoneal cavity cells, heat-killed cells, or cellfree extracts made from such cells are also effective. The activity of the peritoneal cavity cell...

Clinical uses of the peritoneal cavity, such as i.p. chemotherapy or peritoneal dialysis, depend on underlying physiological mechanisms of transport between the blood and the peritoneal cavity. Clinical models of peritoneal transport have focused on an idealized TMperitoneal membrane.” However, such a membrane does not physically exist. Transport actually occurs between the peritoneal cavity an...

The chemokine receptor CXCR3, which was shown to take part in many inflammatory processes, is considered as a Th1 specific marker. Here, we show in a mouse model that CXCR3 expressing CD4(+) cells preferentially migrate to the peritoneal cavity under steady-state conditions. The peritoneal cavity milieu leads to an up-regulated expression of CXCR3. However, blocking of known ligands of this che...

The peritoneum is the largest and most complexly arranged serious membrane in the body. The potential peritoneal spaces, the peritoneal reflections forming peritoneal ligaments, mesenteries, omenta, and the natural flow of peritoneal fluid determine the route of spread of intraperitoneal fluid and consequently disease spread within the abdominal cavity. The peritoneal ligaments, mesenteries, an...

Continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) has been an established treatment for end-stage renal disease for about 20 years. A major problem of CAPD is the relatively high incidence of peritonitis, and this fact has served as a stimulus to nephrologists to study the immune mechanisms of the peritoneum. It is by now well established that all three main cell systems present in the peritonea...

Habitual, moderate exercise is associated with improved health, including reductions in illness. These benefits may stem, in part, from immune function improvements. We have previously reported that daily wheel running increases serum and peritoneal natural IgM (nIgM) in pathogen-free Sprague-Dawely rats. B-1 cells, which primarily reside in the peritoneal cavity, produce nIgM in the absence of...

We examined effects of c-fos overexpression on the development and property of peritoneal B-1 cells using transgenic (H2-c-fos) mice carrying the c-fos gene under the control of the constitutive H-2Kb promoter. The number of B-1b cells in the peritoneal cavity of H2-c-fos mice was 4-fold larger than that in control littermates. Although the numbers of total peritoneal B cells and B-1a cells wer...