Previous Article | Next Article ![]()
Clinical and Vaccine Immunology, November 2009, p. 1615-1623, Vol. 16, No. 11
1071-412X/09/$08.00+0 doi:10.1128/CVI.00216-09
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Received 31 May 2009/ Returned for modification 9 July 2009/ Accepted 15 September 2009
It is recognized that functional activities of antigen-presenting cells (APCs) in mucosal tissue sites differ from those of systemic APCs; however, it is unknown whether there are further differences between APC populations residing in different mucosal sites. In this study, we directly compared murine CD11c+ APCs isolated from colon, lung, and spleen and found that APCs isolated from these tissues differ considerably in Toll-like receptor (TLR) expression and responses to in vitro TLR ligand stimulation. We also provide evidence that tissue microenvironments dictate distinct patterns of TLR expression by CD11c+ APCs in different mucosal tissues. Moreover, CD11c+ cells isolated from different tissues have varied capacities to induce the development of T helper 1 (Th1), Th2, or regulatory CD4+ T cells. Thus, unique tissue microenvironments have a significant influence on determining TLR expression by CD11c+ cells that migrate to and reside in each mucosal tissue and are likely to modulate their functional activities.
Published ahead of print on 23 September 2009.
Copyright © 2009 by the American Society for Microbiology. For an alternate route to Journals.ASM.org, visit: http://intl-journals.asm.org | More Info»