Bone Vasculature and Bone Marrow Vascular Niches in Health and Disease

Plasma cells (PCs) are the main antibody-producing cells in humans. They are long-lived so that specific antibodies against either pathogens or vaccines are produced for decades. PC longevity is attributed to specific areas within the bone marrow micro-environment, the so-called ‘niche’, providing the cells with required growth and survival factors. With antigen encounters, e.g. infection or vaccination, new PCs are generated and home to the bone marrow where they compete with resident PCs for the niche. We propose a parametrized mathematical model describing healthy PC dynamics in the bone marrow. The model accounts for competition for the niche between newly produced PCs owing to vaccination and resident PCs. Mathematical analysis and numerical simulations of the model allow explanation of the recovery of PC homoeostasis after a vaccine-induced perturbation, and the fraction of vaccine-specific PCs inside the niche. The model enables quantification of the niche-related dynamics of PCs, i.e. the duration of PC transition into the niche and the impact of different rates for PC transitions into and out of the niche on the observed cell dynamics. Ultimately, it provides a potential basis for further investigations in health and disease.

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3D models of the bone marrow in health and disease: yesterday, today, and tomorrow

MRS Communications ◽

10.1557/mrc.2018.203 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 9 (01) ◽

pp. 37-52 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Annamarija Raic ◽

Toufik Naolou ◽

Anna Mohra ◽

Chandralekha Chatterjee ◽

Cornelia Lee-Thedieck

Keyword(s):

Bone Marrow ◽

3D Models ◽

Health And Disease ◽

Image Position

Abstract

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Quantification and three-dimensional microanatomical organization of the bone marrow

Blood Advances ◽

10.1182/bloodadvances.2016003194 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 1 (6) ◽

pp. 407-416 ◽

Cited By ~ 31

Author(s):

Cesar Nombela-Arrieta ◽

Markus G. Manz

Keyword(s):

Bone Marrow ◽

Blood Cells ◽

Structural Organization ◽

Imaging Techniques ◽

White Blood Cells ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

The Body ◽

Cellular Composition ◽

Spatial Logic ◽

Health And Disease

Abstract Bone marrow (BM) constitutes one of the largest organs in mice and humans, continuously generating, in a highly regulated manner, red blood cells, platelets, and white blood cells that together form the majority of cells of the body. In this review, we provide a quantitative overview of BM cellular composition, we summarize emerging knowledge on its structural organization and cellular niches, and we argue for the need of multidimensional approaches such as recently developed imaging techniques to uncover the complex spatial logic that underlies BM function in health and disease.

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