Levels of dendritic cell populations and regulatory T cells vary significantly between two commonly used mouse strains.
Dendritic cells (DC) are a heterogeneous group of professional antigen-presenting cells (APC) involved in both initiating immune responses and maintaining tolerance. Roughly, DC can be divided into plasmacytoid DC (pDC) and conventional DC (cDC). By controlling regulatory T cells (Treg), DC can influence the outcome of both immunity and autoimmunity. Since the use of mice as in vivo models became a practical tool for researchers studying pathological events in all kind of human diseases, we decided to compare levels of cDC, pDC and Treg in both spleen and blood between two inbred mouse strains. Here we show that two commonly used mouse strains, BALB/c and C57BL/10J mice, have significantly different levels of distinct CD11c(+)/CD4(-)/CD8a(+), CD11c(+)/CD4(+)/CD8a(-) and CD11c(+)/CD4(-)/CD8a(-) cDC populations, pDC and Treg. Therefore, we emphasize the importance of considering the proper model when comparing data sets from different mouse strains.
Vogelsang
Petra
P
Broegelmann Research Laboratory, The Gade Institute, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.
Hovden
Arnt-Ove
AO
Jonsson
Roland
R
Appel
Silke
S
D000818:Animals; D001772:Blood Cell Count; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D014644:Genetic Variation / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D013154:Spleen / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology*