Notch2 receptor signaling controls functional differentiation of dendritic cells in the spleen and intestine

ABSTRACT: Dendritic cells (DCs) in tissues and lymphoid organs comprise distinct functional subsets that differentiate in situ from circulating progenitors. Tissue-specific signals that regulate DC subset differentiation are poorly understood. We report that DC-specific deletion of the Notch2 receptor caused a reduction of DC populations in the spleen. Within the splenic CD11b+ DCs, Notch signaling blockade ablated a distinct population marked by high expression of adhesion molecule Esam. The Notch-dependent Esamhi DC subset also required lymphotoxin beta receptor signaling, proliferated in situ and facilitated efficient CD4+ T cell priming. The Notch-independent Esamlo DCs expressed monocyte-related genes and showed superior cytokine responses. In addition, Notch2 deletion led to the loss of CD11b+ CD103+ DCs in the intestinal lamina propria and to the corresponding decrease of IL-17-producing CD4+ T cells in the intestine. Thus,Notch2 is a common differentiation signal for T cell-priming CD11b+ DC subsets in the spleen and intestine. We compared genome-wide expression profiles of wild-type Esam(hi) and Esam(lo) splenic CD11b+ DC populations, along with CD11b+ DCs from DC-RBPJΔ mice. Spleens from 2-3 Cx3cr1-GFP+ RBPJflox/flox CD11c-Cre+ mice or Cx3cr1-GFP+ RBPJflox/flox Cre-negative littermate controls were isolated, pooled and depleted of lymphoid and erythroid cells by negative selection on MACS columns. Live cells were stained for surface expression of CD11c, CD11b and Esam. CD11c(hi) CD11b+ DCs from control mice could be separated into Esam(lo) GFP(hi) versus Esam(hi) GFP(lo) subsets. CD11c(hi) CD11b+ DCs from RBPJ-targeted mice spleens were uniformly Esam(lo) GFP(hi). The two subsets from control mice and single Esam(lo) GFP(hi) subset from RBPJ-targeted mice were sorted using FACSAria II flow sorter and analyzed using GeneChip Mouse Gene 1.0 ST Array (Affymetrix).

ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus

SUBMITTER: Boris Reizis 

PROVIDER: E-GEOD-31551 | biostudies-arrayexpress |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-arrayexpress