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RORγt-expressing dendritic cells are functionally versatile and evolutionarily conserved antigen-presenting cells

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 122, pp. e2417308122

Abstract

Conventional dendritic cells (cDCs) are potent antigen-presenting cells (APCs) that integrate signals from their environment allowing them to direct situation-adapted immunity. Thereby they harbor great potential for being targeted in vaccination, autoimmunity, and cancer. Here, we use fate mapping, functional analyses, and comparative cross-species transcriptomics to show that RORγt + DCs are a conserved, functionally versatile, and transcriptionally distinct type of DCs. RORγt + DCs entail various populations described in different contexts including Janus cells/RORγt-expressing extrathymic Aire-expressing cells (eTACs), subtypes of Thetis cells, RORγt + -DC (R-DC) like cells, cDC2C and ACY3 + DCs. We show that in response to inflammatory triggers, RORγt + DCs can migrate to lymph nodes and in the spleen can activate naïve CD4 + T cells. These findings expand the functional repertoire of RORγt + DCs beyond the known role of eTACs and Thetis cells in inducing T cell tolerance to self-antigens and intestinal microbes in mice. We further show that RORγt + DCs with proinflammatory features accumulate in autoimmune neuroinflammation in mice and men. Thus, our work establishes RORγt + DCs as immune sentinel cells that exhibit a broad functional spectrum ranging from inducing peripheral T cell tolerance to T cell activation depending on signals they integrate from their environment.

Authors 29

  1. Institut für Immunologie · Institut für Kardiovaskuläre Physiologie und Pathophysiologie · Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München

    Affiliation as printed

    Biomedical Center, Institute of Cardiovascular Physiology and Pathophysiology, Faculty of Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich

    Institute for Immunology, Biomedical Center Munich, Faculty of Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich

  2. Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München

    Affiliation as printed

    Biomedical Center, Physiological Chemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich

  3. Institut für Immunologie · Institut für Kardiovaskuläre Physiologie und Pathophysiologie · Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München

    Affiliation as printed

    Biomedical Center, Institute of Cardiovascular Physiology and Pathophysiology, Faculty of Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich

    Institute for Immunology, Biomedical Center Munich, Faculty of Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich

  4. Institut für Kardiovaskuläre Physiologie und Pathophysiologie · Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München

    Affiliation as printed

    Biomedical Center, Institute of Cardiovascular Physiology and Pathophysiology, Faculty of Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich

  5. Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin · Freie Universität Berlin · Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin

    Affiliation as printed

    Institute for Medical Immunology, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt Universität zu Berlin

  6. Institut für Immunologie · Institut für Kardiovaskuläre Physiologie und Pathophysiologie · Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München

    Affiliation as printed

    Biomedical Center, Institute of Cardiovascular Physiology and Pathophysiology, Faculty of Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich

    Institute for Immunology, Biomedical Center Munich, Faculty of Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich

  7. Technical University of Denmark

    Affiliation as printed

    Section for Experimental and Translational Immunology, Institute for Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark

    Section for Experimental and Translational Immunology, Institute for Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby 2800, Denmark

  8. Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology · Institut für Klinische Neuroimmunologie · Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München

    Affiliation as printed

    Biomedical Center, Medical Faculty, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich

    Institute of Clinical Neuroimmunology, University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich

    Munich Cluster of Systems Neurology (SyNergy)

  9. Institut für Klinische Neuroimmunologie · Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München

    Affiliation as printed

    Biomedical Center, Medical Faculty, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich

    Graduate School of Systemic Neurosciences, LMU

    Institute of Clinical Neuroimmunology, University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich

    Graduate School of Systemic Neurosciences, LMU, Planegg-Martinsried 82152, Germany

  10. Institut für Immunologie · Institut für Kardiovaskuläre Physiologie und Pathophysiologie · Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München

    Affiliation as printed

    Biomedical Center, Institute of Cardiovascular Physiology and Pathophysiology, Faculty of Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich

    Institute for Immunology, Biomedical Center Munich, Faculty of Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich

  11. Lund University

    Affiliation as printed

    Molecular Medicine and Gene Therapy, Lund Stem Cell Centre, Lund University

    Wallenberg Centre for Molecular Medicine at Lund University

    Molecular Medicine and Gene Therapy, Lund Stem Cell Centre, Lund University, Lund 221 84, Sweden

    Wallenberg Centre for Molecular Medicine at Lund University, Lund 221 84, Sweden

  12. Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz · University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz

    Affiliation as printed

    Institute for Molecular Medicine and Research Center for Immunotherapy (Forschungszentrum für Immuntherapie), University Medical Center Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz

  13. Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz · University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz

    Affiliation as printed

    Institute for Molecular Medicine and Research Center for Immunotherapy (Forschungszentrum für Immuntherapie), University Medical Center Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz

  14. Institut für Kardiovaskuläre Physiologie und Pathophysiologie · Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München

    Affiliation as printed

    Biomedical Center, Institute of Cardiovascular Physiology and Pathophysiology, Faculty of Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich

  15. Universitätsklinikum Aachen · RWTH Aachen University

    Affiliation as printed

    Institute of Medical Microbiology, Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen University Hospital

  16. Universitätsklinikum Aachen · RWTH Aachen University

    Affiliation as printed

    Institute of Medical Microbiology, Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen University Hospital

  17. Washington University in St. Louis

    Affiliation as printed

    Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine

    Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110

  18. Lund University

    Affiliation as printed

    Molecular Medicine and Gene Therapy, Lund Stem Cell Centre, Lund University

    Wallenberg Centre for Molecular Medicine at Lund University

    Molecular Medicine and Gene Therapy, Lund Stem Cell Centre, Lund University, Lund 221 84, Sweden

    Wallenberg Centre for Molecular Medicine at Lund University, Lund 221 84, Sweden

  19. Institut für Immunologie · Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München

    Affiliation as printed

    Institute for Immunology, Biomedical Center Munich, Faculty of Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich

  20. Jena University Hospital · Friedrich Schiller University Jena

    Affiliation as printed

    Institute of Immunology, Jena University Hospital of the Friedrich-Schiller-University

    Institute of Immunology, Jena University Hospital of the Friedrich-Schiller-University, Jena 07747, Germany

  21. Washington University in St. Louis

    Affiliation as printed

    Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine

    Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO 63110

  22. Universitätsklinikum Aachen · RWTH Aachen University

    Affiliation as printed

    Institute of Medical Microbiology, Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen University Hospital

  23. Universitätsklinikum Aachen · RWTH Aachen University

    Affiliation as printed

    Institute of Medical Microbiology, Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen University Hospital

  24. Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz · University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz

    Affiliation as printed

    Institute for Molecular Medicine and Research Center for Immunotherapy (Forschungszentrum für Immuntherapie), University Medical Center Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz

  25. Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology · Institut für Klinische Neuroimmunologie · Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München

    Affiliation as printed

    Biomedical Center, Medical Faculty, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich

    Institute of Clinical Neuroimmunology, University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich

    Munich Cluster of Systems Neurology (SyNergy)

  26. University of Calgary · Lund University · Technical University of Denmark

    Affiliation as printed

    Calvin, Phoebe and Joan Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases, University of Calgary

    Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Infectious Diseases, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary

    Immunology Section, Lund University

    Section for Experimental and Translational Immunology, Institute for Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark

    Calvin, Phoebe and Joan Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada

    Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Infectious Diseases, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada

    Immunology Section, Lund University, Lund 221 84, Sweden

    Section for Experimental and Translational Immunology, Institute for Health Technology, Technical University of Denmark, Kongens Lyngby 2800, Denmark

  27. Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin · Freie Universität Berlin · Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin

    Affiliation as printed

    Institute for Medical Immunology, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt Universität zu Berlin

  28. Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München

    Affiliation as printed

    Biomedical Center, Physiological Chemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich

  29. Barbara U. Schraml corresponding

    Institut für Immunologie · Institut für Kardiovaskuläre Physiologie und Pathophysiologie · Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München

    Affiliation as printed

    Biomedical Center, Institute of Cardiovascular Physiology and Pathophysiology, Faculty of Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich

    Institute for Immunology, Biomedical Center Munich, Faculty of Medicine, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich

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References 80