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Updated: Jul 10, 2026

Isolation of Murine Lymph Node Stromal Cells
05:47

Isolation of Murine Lymph Node Stromal Cells

Published on: August 19, 2014

Stromal complement receptor CD21/35 facilitates lymphoid prion colonization and pathogenesis

Mark D Zabel1, Mathias Heikenwalder, Marco Prinz

  • 1Institute for Neuropathology, University Hospital of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland. mark.zabel@colostate.edu

Journal of Immunology (Baltimore, Md. : 1950)
|October 20, 2007
PubMed

Insights

The complement receptor CD21/35 on stromal cells is crucial for prion replication and neuroinvasion. Ablating this receptor significantly delays prion disease by preventing splenic prion retention.

Area of Science:

  • Immunology
  • Neuroscience
  • Infectious Diseases

Background:

  • Prion diseases are fatal neurodegenerative disorders.
  • Extraneural prion replication and neuroinvasion are key to disease pathogenesis.
  • Complement receptors CD21/35 bind complement factors C3 and C4, implicated in immune responses.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of CD21/35 in extraneural prion replication and neuroinvasion.
  • To determine the cellular source of CD21/35 mediating prion susceptibility.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized CD21/35 knockout (CD21/35(-/-)) mice and wild-type (WT) mice.
  • Administered small prion inocula to assess disease progression and attack rates.
  • Performed reciprocal adoptive bone marrow transfers to distinguish stromal vs. hemopoietic roles.
  • Conducted further transfers with mice lacking both cellular prion protein (PrP(C)) and CD21/35.

Main Results:

  • CD21/35(-/-) mice showed reduced attack rates and delayed prion disease onset compared to WT mice.
  • Early splenic infectivity was absent in CD21/35(-/-) mice post-inoculation.
  • Protection against prion infection was attributed to the absence of stromal CD21/35, not hemopoietic.
  • Stromal CD21/35 expression was essential for splenic retention of prion inocula.

Conclusions:

  • CD21/35 on follicular dendritic cells plays a critical role in prion targeting and neuroinvasion.
  • Stromal CD21/35 mediates the initial splenic retention of prions following peripheral exposure.
  • Targeting CD21/35 may offer a therapeutic strategy to prevent prion neuroinvasion.

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