ANTIGEN PROCESSING AND PRESENTATION INVIVO - THE MICROENVIRONMENT AS A CRUCIAL FACTOR

Antigen processing and presentation in vitro is an increasingly well understood phenomenon. However, in vivo, a large number of variables conspire to obscure and confuse. In this article, Nico van Rooijen attempts to bring order to events that occur in the spleen after antigenic challenge: starting with the large body of reliable in vitro data he incorporates information on splenic anatomy, cell trafficking and the cellular microenvironment to arrive at a physiological model for antigen handling in vivo.