The Journal of Experimental Medicine
Torrey Pines Biolabs
  Home | Help | Feedback | Subscriptions | Archive | Search | Table of Contents
Published online December 4, 2006
doi:10.1084/jem.20061884
The Journal of Experimental Medicine, Vol. 203, No. 13, 2841-2852
The Rockefeller University Press, 0022-1007 $30.00
© 2006 Chieppa et al.
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF, 2076K)
Right arrow PPT slides of all figures
Right arrow Supplemental Material Index
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new content in the JEM
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Chieppa, M.
Right arrow Articles by Germain, R. N.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Chieppa, M.
Right arrow Articles by Germain, R. N.
Related Collections
Right arrowRelated Article
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati  
What's this?

ARTICLE

 Dynamic imaging of dendritic cell extension into the small bowel lumen in response to epithelial cell TLR engagement

Marcello Chieppa1, Maria Rescigno2, Alex Y.C. Huang1, and Ronald N. Germain1

1 Lymphocyte Biology Section, Laboratory of Immunology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Bethesda, MD 20892
2 Department of Experimental Oncology, European Institute of Oncology, 20141 Milan, Italy

CORRESPONDENCE Ronald N. Germain: rgermain{at}nih.gov

Cells lining the gastrointestinal tract serve as both a barrier to and a pathway for infectious agent entry. Dendritic cells (DCs) present in the lamina propria under the columnar villus epithelium of the small bowel extend processes across this epithelium and capture bacteria, but previous studies provided limited information on the nature of the stimuli, receptors, and signaling events involved in promoting this phenomenon. Here, we use immunohistochemical as well as dynamic explant and intravital two-photon imaging to investigate this issue. Analysis of CD11c–enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) or major histocompatibility complex CII-EGFP mice revealed that the number of trans-epithelial DC extensions, many with an unusual "balloon" shape, varies along the length of the small bowel. High numbers of such extensions were found in the proximal jejunum, but only a few were present in the terminal ileum. The extensions in the terminal ileum markedly increased upon the introduction of invasive or noninvasive Salmonella organisms, and chimeric mouse studies revealed the key role of MyD88-dependent Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling by nonhematopoietic (epithelial) elements in the DC extension response. Collectively, these findings support a model in which epithelial cell TLR signaling upon exposure to microbial stimuli induces active DC sampling of the gut lumen at sites distant from organized lymphoid tissues.

Abbreviations used: BB, balloon body; EGFP, enhanced GFP; PAMP, pathogen-associated molecular pattern; PG, peptidoglycan; SNARF, carboxylic acid acetate succinimidyl ester; TLR, Toll-like receptor.

A.Y.C. Huang's present address is Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?

Related Article

Dynamic DCs of the gut
Ruth Williams
J. Exp. Med. 2006 203: 2783. [Full Text] [PDF]



This article has been cited by other articles:



  Home | Help | Feedback | Subscriptions | Archive | Search
TABLE OF CONTENTS