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Updated: Jun 18, 2026
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Isolation of Group 2 Innate Lymphoid Cells from Mouse Nasal Mucosa to Detect the Expression of CD226
Published on: May 10, 2022
Spatial and Phenotypic Heterogeneity of ILC Subsets in Mouse Lung Under Type 2 Inflammatory Conditions
Sandy Kroh1,2, Anna Pascual-Reguant1,2,3,4, Artür Manukyan5
1Department of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
European Journal of Immunology
|June 17, 2026
Summary
Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) orchestrate mucosal immunity. This study used multiepitope ligand cartography to map ILC localization and phenotype in mouse lungs during inflammation, revealing dynamic niche remodeling.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Cell Biology
- Tissue Microenvironment Research
Background:
- Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) are crucial for mucosal immunity, inflammation, and tissue repair.
- Studying ILCs in their native microenvironment is difficult due to their low abundance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To spatio-temporally characterize ILC phenotype and localization in mouse lungs during IL-33-induced type 2 inflammation.
- To investigate the remodeling of ILC niches within the lung microenvironment.
Main Methods:
- Application of cyclic multiplex immunofluorescence (multiepitope ligand cartography - MELC).
- Analysis of ILC phenotype and spatial localization in a mouse model of systemic IL-33-induced type 2 inflammation.
- Niche analysis, spatial neighborhood, and coenrichment analyses were performed.
Main Results:
- Identified four distinct niches, with an expansion of a B and Plasma cell (BPC)/blood endothelial cell (BEC) niche.
- Observed ILC2 accumulation in myeloid-rich peri-lymphatic niches, in direct contact with alveolar macrophages and lymphatics.
- Found NK cells/ILC1s coenriched near blood vessels alongside B cells and plasma cells.
Conclusions:
- Spatial multiplex imaging is effective for dissecting rare immune cell localization and phenotypes.
- Demonstrated dynamic, tissue-specific remodeling of ILC niches during early type 2 inflammation.
- ILC2s exhibit specific localization and phenotypic changes during early inflammation.
