CD8?(+) dendritic cells are an obligate cellular entry point for productive infection by Listeria monocytogenes.

ABSTRACT: CD8?(+) dendritic cells (DCs) prime cytotoxic T lymphocytes during viral infections and produce interleukin-12 in response to pathogens. Although the loss of CD8?(+) DCs in Batf3(-/-) mice increases their susceptibility to several pathogens, we observed that Batf3(-/-) mice exhibited enhanced resistance to the intracellular bacterium Listeria monocytogenes. In wild-type mice, Listeria organisms, initially located in the splenic marginal zone, migrated to the periarteriolar lymphoid sheath (PALS) where they grew exponentially and induced widespread lymphocyte apoptosis. In Batf3(-/-) mice, however, Listeria organisms remain trapped in the marginal zone, failed to traffic into the PALS, and were rapidly cleared by phagocytes. In addition, Batf3(-/-) mice, which lacked the normal population of hepatic CD103(+) peripheral DCs, also showed protection from liver infection. These results suggest that Batf3-dependent CD8?(+) and CD103(+) DCs provide initial cellular entry points within the reticuloendothelial system by which Listeria establishes productive infection.

SUBMITTER: Edelson BT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3172670 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature