The following statements about splenosis are correct:

E. All of the above

DISCUSSION: Splenosis or autotransplantation of splenic tissue, which may follow splenic injury, can result in the return of some types of immune function. The “born again” spleen refers to the detection in blood samples of the opsonin tuftsin and properdin, which have been observed to occur in the occasional patient at a period of time remote from splenic injury. The supposition is that as the splenic implants grow and multiply in time, they reach a critical mass whereby opsonins may be formed and presumably the implants can provide some of the host defense mechanisms that were lost with splenectomy.