Egr2-dependent Mo-DCs regulate immunosuppressive NK cells, promoting neutrophil-mediated protective immunity against acute Listeria infection.

ABSTRACT: The interactions between dendritic cells (DCs) and other innate immune cells during acute bacterial infection remain poorly understood. To investigate this cross-talk, we generated CD11c-cre-mediated early growth response gene-2 knockout (Egr2^cKO) mice and used an acute Listeria monocytogenes (LM) infection model. In wild-type mice, LM infection induced the generation of monocyte-derived DCs (Mo-DCs), which suppressed the conversion of natural killer (NK) cells into immunosuppressive NK cells, while Mo-DC-derived TNF-α enhanced neutrophil (NP) activity to control infection. In contrast, Egr2^cKO mice exhibited significantly increased susceptibility to LM infection compared with their Egr2-floxed wild-type littermates, primarily due to a deficiency in Mo-DCs. Instead, m

SUBMITTER: Ashraf MU 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12637400 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature