Expression of blood dendritic cell antigens (BDCAs) by CD1a+ human pulmonary cells
Maria Tsoumakidou1, Sarah J Kemp, Andrew J Thorley
1Lung Pathology Unit, London SW3 6LY, UK. tsoumak@yahoo.gr
Insights
Human pulmonary CD1a(+) dendritic cells (DCs) can express both myeloid and plasmacytoid Blood DC Antigens (BDCAs). This suggests experimental induction of flexibility in lung DC subsets, rather than strict subset restriction.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Cell Biology
Background:
- Human lung dendritic cells (DCs) comprise distinct myeloid and plasmacytoid subsets defined by Blood DC Antigen (BDCA) expression.
- Langerhan's cells are a subset of CD1a(+) dendritic cells found in the human lung.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the expression of myeloid and plasmacytoid BDCA markers on isolated human pulmonary CD1a(+) dendritic cells (Langerhan's cells).
Main Methods:
- Isolation of CD1a(+) cells from human lung tissue using an in vitro cell culture system.
- Immunophenotypic analysis using antibodies against BDCA1, BDCA3, BDCA2, Langerin, and CD83.
Main Results:
- Isolated CD1a(+) cells exhibited variable expression of Langerin, BDCAs, and CD83 across samples.
- A subset of mature CD1a(+) cells expressed all tested BDCA markers, indicating co-expression.
Conclusions:
- Pulmonary CD1a(+) dendritic cells can express both myeloid and plasmacytoid BDCA markers in vitro.
- Experimental conditions can induce flexibility or plasticity in pulmonary DC subset marker expression.
Background:
Myeloid and plasmacytoid dendritic cell (DC) subsets have been recently identified in the human lung based on their differential expression of Blood DC Antigens 1-3 (BDCAs). We investigated the expression of these antigens by isolated human pulmonary CD1a(+) DCs, namely Langerhan's cells.
Methods:
Using an in vitro cell culture system we successfully isolated a population of relatively pure (>70%) CD1a(+) cells from human lung tissue (n=5 subject samples) and stained these with antibodies against the myeloid DC markers BDCA1 (CD1c) and BDCA3 (CD303), the plasmacytoid DC marker BDCA2 (CD141), the Langerhan's cell marker Langerin and the maturation marker CD83.
Results:
Among different subject samples, the isolated CD1a(+) cells showed variable expression of Langerin, BDCAs and CD83. Interestingly, in two subject samples, which contained >70% CD83(+) mature CD1a(+) cells, >50% of the cells were positive for all of the BDCAs.
Conclusions:
We conclude that isolated pulmonary CD1a(+) DCs in vitro have the capacity to express both myeloid and plasmacytoid BDCA markers and that rather than subset restriction in pulmonary DCs, a significant degree of flexibility/plasticity can be induced, albeit experimentally.
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