Bone marrow and the control of immunity

Cell Mol Immunol. 2012 Jan;9(1):11-9. doi: 10.1038/cmi.2011.47. Epub 2011 Oct 24.

Abstract

Bone marrow is thought to be a primary hematopoietic organ. However, accumulated evidences demonstrate that active function and trafficking of immune cells, including regulatory T cells, conventional T cells, B cells, dendritic cells, natural killer T (NKT) cells, neutrophils, myeloid-derived suppressor cells and mesenchymal stem cells, are observed in the bone marrow. Furthermore, bone marrow is a predetermined metastatic location for multiple human tumors. In this review, we discuss the immune network in the bone marrow. We suggest that bone marrow is an immune regulatory organ capable of fine tuning immunity and may be a potential therapeutic target for immunotherapy and immune vaccination.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Bone Marrow / immunology*
  • Bone Marrow Neoplasms / immunology*
  • Bone Marrow Neoplasms / secondary
  • Bone Marrow Neoplasms / therapy
  • Dendritic Cells / immunology
  • Hematopoietic Stem Cells / immunology
  • Humans
  • Immunotherapy / methods
  • Lymphocytes / immunology
  • Mesenchymal Stem Cells / immunology
  • Neoplasm Metastasis
  • Neutrophils / immunology