Mouse Spleen Dendritic Cells

Abstract

Recent advances in the field have made increasingly clear that dendritic cells (DC) are heterogeneous in function, localization and developmental derivation¹. In the spleen, two populations of DC have been demonstrated which show differences in location and immunophenotype^2,3. Classic interdigitating cells (IDC) are located in the T cell areas of the splenic white pulp, whereas a less well characterized population of DC is situated in patches just outside the marginal zone. The developmental relationship between these two populations, however, is unclear. In the present study, we wished to explore the functional and phenotypic characteristics of splenic DC, and especially of the marginal DC population. The relevance of this aim was indicated by the observation that the majority of freshly isolated splenic DC is derived from this marginal population³. More specifically, we approached the question whether marginal DC are capable of endocytosing particulate antigens in vivo, since the spleen is important in the initiation of immune responses against circulating antigens. In immature developmental stages, DC may show uptake of solutes by means of macropinocytosis, but their phagocytic capacities are thought to be limited (discussed in ref. 4).