Sublingual immune cell clusters and dendritic cell distribution in the oral cavity.

ABSTRACT: The oral mucosa is the first line of defense against pathogenic bacteria and plays a vital role in maintaining tolerance to food antigens and commensal bacteria. We used CD11c reporter mice to visualize dendritic cells (DCs), a key immune cell population, in the oral cavity. We identified differences in DC density in each oral tissue region. Sublingual immune cell clusters (SLICs) extended from the lamina propria to the epithelium, where DCs and T cells resided in close contact with each other and innate lymphoid cells. Targeted in situ photolabeling revealed that the SLICs comprised mostly CD11c+CD11b+ DCs and were enriched for cDC1s and Langerhans cells. Although the frequency of T cell subsets was similar within and outside the SLICs, tissue-resident memory T cells were significantly en

SUBMITTER: Kusumoto Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11601585 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature