Purpose. To identify more accurately in the spleen, the areas and the
cells where nanoparticulate carriers were taken up from the blood flow
, a series of complementary approaches were used. Methods. First, in a
nd ex vivo examination of the whole spleen led to a global view of all
the trapping areas. Then, histological studies on frozen sections of
the same organ allowed for a more precise localization of these areas
and image analysis gave an evaluation of tissue distribution of the na
noparticles. Finally, immunological and enzymological characteristics
of the capturing cells were determined in situ, using monoclonal antib
odies (F4/80 and anti-sialoadhesin) and cytochemichal reactions (ester
ases and acid phosphatase). Furthermore incubation of spleen slices wi
th different nanoparticles was used so as to know if the capture was d
ue to a high capturing capacity of these cells or to a high blood flow
in their vicinity. Results. It was shown that more than 90% of the sp
lenic capture was localized in the marginal zone of the follicles. The
capturing cells form a special population of macrophages inserted in
a reticular meshwork, showing low esterase and acid phosphatase activi
ties, giving faint or no reaction with F4/80 or anti-sialoadhesin anti
bodies. The circulating nanoparticles were quickly trapped with rather
low specificity by these cells. Conclusions. Combination of coherent
approaches allowed for the tracking of capturing cells from in vivo ob
servations to their in situ identification on immunological and enzymo
logical criteria.