Bronchus-Associated Lymphoid Tissue (BALT) Histology and Its Role in Various Pathologies

Abstract

The lower respiratory tract is in direct communication with the external environment for gas exchange to occur. Therefore, it is constantly exposed to allergens, antigens, bacteria, viruses, and a wide variety of airborne foreign bodies. Bronchus-associated lymphoid tissue (BALT), which develops in response to these exposures and is one of the most prominent representatives of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT), is important for generating rapid and specific bronchopulmonary adaptive immune responses. Therefore, this chapter focuses on the lymphoid architecture of BALT, which was first discovered in the bronchial wall of rabbits, its inducible form called inducible BALT (iBALT), its immunological response mechanisms, and its roles in certain pathologies including infectious and autoimmune diseases as well as in allergic and malignant conditions. In conclusion, it is hypothesized that BALT plays an important role in maintaining health and in the development of lower respiratory tract diseases; thanks to the pulmonary immune system in which it functions as a functional lymphoid tissue.