Identification and characterization of murine glycoprotein 2-expressing intestinal dendritic cells

The intestinal lamina propria (LP) contains distinct subsets of classical dendritic cells (cDC), each playing key non-redundant roles in intestinal immune homeostasis. Here, we show that glycoprotein 2 (GP2), a GPI-anchored protein and receptor for bacterial type-I fimbriae, is selectively expressed by CD103⁺CD11b⁺ cDC in the murine small intestine (SI). GP2 expression was induced on CD103⁺CD11b⁺ cDC within the SI-LP and was regulated by IRF4, TGFβR1- and retinoic acid signalling. Mice selectively lacking Gp2 on CD103⁺CD11b⁺ cDC (huLang-Cre.gp2^fl/fl mice) had normal numbers and proportions of innate and adaptive immune cells in the SI-LP suggesting that GP2 expression by CD103⁺CD11b⁺ cDC is not required for intestinal immune homoeostasis.