Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Physiology

Relax and come in

Nature volume 514, pages 441–442 (2014)Cite this article

Subjects

During inflammation, lymph nodes swell with an influx of immune cells. New findings identify a signalling pathway that induces relaxation in the contractile cells that give structure to these organs. See Letter p.498

Mechanical forces are key elements in the developmental control of organ size1. Adjusting the size of lymph nodes is a special challenge, because immune cells continually enter and exit the organs from the bloodstream, and the number of cells the nodes contain can rapidly increase during an immune or inflammatory response. Despite these dramatic changes in cellularity, the structural backbone of lymph nodes — a network of stromal fibroblastic reticular cells — remains relatively stable2. In this issue, Acton et al.3 (page 498) show that, during inflammation, immune cells called dendritic cells transmit a signal that triggers the physical relaxation of these stromal cells, thereby making space for more immune cells to enter the lymph nodes. This mechanical control aids rapid swelling of the organ, without substantial remodelling or proliferation of the stromal cells.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Lymph-node swelling during the inflammatory response.

References

  1. Low, B. C. et al. FEBS Lett. 588, 2663–2670 (2014).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Yang, C.-Y. et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 111, E109–E118 (2014).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Acton, S. E. et al. Nature 514, 498–502 (2014).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Mionnet, C. et al. Blood 118, 6115–6122 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Luther, S. A., Vogt, T. K. & Siegert, S. Immunol. Lett. 138, 9–11 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Peduto, L. et al. J. Immunol. 182, 5789–5799 (2009).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Cabanac, A., Folkow, L. P. & Blix, A. S. J. Appl. Physiol. 82, 1989–1994 (1997).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. McHale, N. G. & Thornbury, K. D. Exp. Physiol. 75, 847–850 (1990).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Kari Vaahtomeri and Michael Sixt are at the Institute of Science and Technology (IST) Austria, 3400 Klosterneuburg, Austria.,

    Kari Vaahtomeri & Michael Sixt

Authors
  1. Kari Vaahtomeri
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Michael Sixt
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michael Sixt.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Vaahtomeri, K., Sixt, M. Relax and come in. Nature 514, 441–442 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/514441a

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/514441a

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing