title: Ly49Q defines 2 pDC subsets in mice.
abstract: Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) play an important primary role for antiviral innate immunity by rapidly producing large amounts of type 1 interferon (IFN) upon viral infection. To study pDC biology, we generated a monoclonal antibody, termed 2E6, that recognizes pDCs. Molecular cloning of a cDNA encoding the 2E6 antigen revealed that it is a type II C-type lectin, Ly49Q, that consists of 247 amino acids with high homology to the natural killer (NK) receptor family Ly49, with an immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibitory motif in the cytoplasmic domain. Ly49Q is expressed on pDCs but not on NK cells or myeloid dendritic cells. B220+, CD11c+, CD11b- pDCs in bone marrow were divided into Ly49Q+ and Ly49Q- subsets. While both subsets produced IFN-alpha upon cytosine-phosphate-guanosine (CpG) and herpes simplex virus stimulation, Ly49Q- pDCs responded poorly to influenza virus. In addition, Ly49Q- pDCs produced inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin 6 (IL-6), IL-12, and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) upon stimulation at lower levels than those produced by Ly49Q+ pDCs. In contrast to bone marrow, Ly49Q+ pDCs were only found in peripheral blood, lymph nodes, and spleen. These results indicate that Ly49Q is a specific marker for peripheral pDCs and that expression of Ly49Q defines 2 subsets of pDCs in bone marrow.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunobiology, Ginkgo Biomedical Research Institute, 4-7-4-8F Shirokanedai, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 108-0071 Japan. kamogawa@ginkgobio.co.jp
authors.forename: Yumiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kamogawa-Schifter
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ohkawa
authors.forename: Sahori
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Namiki
authors.forename: Naoko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Arai
authors.forename: Ken-Ichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Arai
authors.forename: Yongjun
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D000918:Antibody Specificity; D000950:Antigens, Ly / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D015415:Biomarkers; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000145:classification / Q000166:cytology / Q000378:metabolism; D039481:CD11b Antigen / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D039521:CD11c Antigen / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000145:classification* / Q000166:cytology* / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000378:metabolism; D037181:Lectins, C-Type; D017493:Leukocyte Common Antigens / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D055650:NK Cell Lectin-Like Receptor Subfamily A; D054562:Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase, Non-Receptor Type 1; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D055630:Receptors, NK Cell Lectin-Like; D013154:Spleen / Q000166:cytology
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D000950:Antigens, Ly; D015415:Biomarkers; D039481:CD11b Antigen; D039521:CD11c Antigen; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D016898:Interferon-alpha; C527089:Klra17 protein, mouse; D037181:Lectins, C-Type; D055650:NK Cell Lectin-Like Receptor Subfamily A; D055630:Receptors, NK Cell Lectin-Like; D017493:Leukocyte Common Antigens; D054562:Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase, Non-Receptor Type 1