CD8[alpha]+ Dendritic Cells Are an Obligate Cellular Entry Point for Productive Infection by Listeria monocytogenes.
Edelson, Brian T. 1; Bradstreet, Tara R. 1; Hildner, Kai 1,2,3; Carrero, Javier A. 1; Frederick, Katherine E. 1; KC, Wumesh 1; Belizaire, Roger 1; Aoshi, Taiki 1,4; Schreiber, Robert D. 1; Miller, Mark J. 1; Murphy, Theresa L. 1; Unanue, Emil R. 1; Murphy, Kenneth M. 1,2,*
[Article] Immunity. 35(2):236-248, August 2011.

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SUMMARY: CD8[alpha] dendritic cells (DCs) prime cytotoxic T lymphocytes during viral infections and produce interleukin-12 in response to pathogens. Although the loss of CD8[alpha] DCs in Batf3-/- mice increases their susceptibility to several pathogens, we observed that Batf3-/- mice exhibited enhanced resistance to the intracellular bacterium Listeria monocytogenes. In wild-type mice, Listeria organisms, initially located in the splenic marginal zone, migrated to the periarteriolar lymphoid sheath (PALS) where they grew exponentially and induced widespread lymphocyte apoptosis. In Batf3-/- mice, however, Listeria organisms remain trapped in the marginal zone, failed to traffic into the PALS, and were rapidly cleared by phagocytes. In addition, Batf3-/- mice, which lacked the normal population of hepatic CD103 peripheral DCs, also showed protection from liver infection. These results suggest that Batf3-dependent CD8[alpha] and CD103 DCs provide initial cellular entry points within the reticuloendothelial system by which Listeria establishes productive infection.

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