Bidirectional MHC molecule exchange between migratory and resident dendritic cells

Dendritic cells (DCs) loaded extracorporeally with antigen can be used as an adjuvant in vivo. In this work, we analyzed the migration of transferred DC and monitored the phenotype of new migrants in the draining lymph nodes. It is surprising that we found that a majority of resident DCs expressed donor MHC molecules and that a proportion of injected DCs acquired host MHC molecules. These observations suggest that a bidirectional MHC molecule exchange occurs between migratory and resident DCs, a mechanism that may amplify antigen presentation in vivo.