TLR2/6 stimulation of the rat lung: effects on lymphocyte subsets, natural killer cells and dendritic cells in different parts of the air-conducting compartments and at different ages.
The composition of lymphocyte subsets in the lung has been found to be compartment-specific. To characterize the effect of age, weanling, young adult and adult rats were studied in control conditions and after a single intratracheal dose of the Toll-like receptor 2/6 (TLR2/6) agonist macrophage activating lipopeptide-2 (MALP-2). In all age groups, T, B and natural killer (NK) cells increased dramatically in the epithelium and lamina propria of the bronchi. Male adult rats were found to have responded to MALP-2 to a much greater extent than females when lymphocyte subsets were counted in the epithelium and the lamina propria. In a second series of experiments the time kinetics of regulatory T-cell (Treg) subsets and dendritic cells (DCs) in the lung was studied after local stimulation with MALP-2. Different time-dependent patterns were found in the Treg subsets CD4(+) CD25(+), CD4(+) CD25(+) neuropilin 1(+) and CD4(+) CD25(+) Foxp3(+) cells. Neutrophils and DCs also showed different patterns. Thus, the local application of a TLR agonist increased the number of lymphocyte subsets in a compartment-specific pattern. However, data should not be generalized or extrapolated from one age group, sex or lymphocyte subpopulation to another.
Institute of Functional and Applied Anatomy, Medical School Hannover, Hannover, Germany. pabst.reinhard@mh-hannover.de
Reinhard
R
Pabst
Deniz
D
Durak
Anna
A
Roos
Anke
A
Lührmann
Thomas
T
Tschernig
D000375:Aging / Q000276:immunology; D000818:Animals; D001980:Bronchi / Q000276:immunology; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000276:immunology; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000276:immunology*; D055666:Lipopeptides / Q000276:immunology; D008168:Lung / Q000276:immunology*; D016131:Lymphocyte Subsets / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011917:Rats, Inbred Lew; D020545:Respiratory Mucosa / Q000276:immunology; D051195:Toll-Like Receptor 2 / Q000819:agonists / Q000276:immunology*; D051216:Toll-Like Receptor 6 / Q000819:agonists / Q000276:immunology*
D055666:Lipopeptides; C495343:Tlr2 protein, rat; D051195:Toll-Like Receptor 2; D051216:Toll-Like Receptor 6; C106335:macrophage stimulatory lipopeptide 2