| Summary: | Dendritic cells (DCs) are pivotal in the development of specific T-cell responses to control pathogens, as they govern both the initiation and the polarization of adaptive immunity. To investigate the capacities of migrating DCs to respond to pathogens, we used physiologically generated lymph DCs (L-DCs). The flexible polarization of L-DCs was analysed in response to Salmonella or helminth secretions known to induce different T cell responses. Mature conventional CD1b(+) L-DCs showed a predisposition to promote pro-inflammatory (IL-6), pro-Th1 (IL-12p40) and anti-inflammatory (IL-10) responses which were amplified by Salmonella, and limited to only IL-6 induction by helminth secretions. The other major population of L-DCs did not express the CD1b molecule and displayed phenotypic features of immaturity compared to CD1b(+) L-DCs. Salmonella infection reduced the constitutive expression of TNF-α and IL-4 mRNA in CD1b(-) L-DCs, whereas this expression was not affected by helminth secretions. The cytokine response of T cells promoted by L-DCs was analysed in T cell subsets after co-culture with Salmonella or helminth secretion-driven CD1b(+) or CD1b(-) L-DCs. T cells preferentially expressed the IL-17 gene, and to a lesser extent the IFN-γ and IL-10 genes, in response to Salmonella-driven CD1b(+) L-DCs, whereas a preferential IL-10, IFN-γ and IL-17 gene expression was observed in response to Salmonella-driven CD1b(-) L-DCs. In contrast, a predominant IL-4 and IL-13 gene expression by CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells was observed after stimulation of CD1b(+) and CD1b(-) L-DCs with helminth secretions. These results show that mature conventional CD1b(+) L-DCs maintain a flexible capacity to respond differently to pathogens, that the predisposition of CD1b(-) L-DCs to promote a Th2 response can be oriented towards other Th responses, and finally that the modulation of migrating L-DCs responses is controlled more by the pathogen encountered than the L-DC subsets.
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