title: Existence of conventional dendritic cells in Gallus gallus revealed by comparative gene expression profiling.
abstract: The existence of conventional dendritic cells (cDCs) has not yet been demonstrated outside mammals. In this article, we identified bona fide cDCs in chicken spleen. Comparative profiling of global and of immune response gene expression, morphology, and T cell activation properties show that cDCs and macrophages (MPs) exist as distinct mononuclear phagocytes in the chicken, resembling their human and mouse cell counterparts. With computational analysis, core gene expression signatures for cDCs, MPs, and T and B cells across the chicken, human, and mouse were established, which will facilitate the identification of these subsets in other vertebrates. Overall, this study, by extending the newly uncovered cDC and MP paradigm to the chicken, suggests that these two phagocyte lineages were already in place in the common ancestor of reptiles (including birds) and mammals in evolution. It opens avenues for the design of new vaccines and nutraceuticals that are mandatory for the sustained supply of poultry products in the expanding human population.
authors.affiliation: Centre d'Immunologie de Marseille-Luminy, Aix-Marseille University, UM2, 13288 Marseille Cedex 9, France;
authors.forename: Thien-Phong
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Vu Manh
authors.forename: Hélène
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Marty
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sibille
authors.forename: Yves
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Le Vern
authors.forename: Bernd
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Kaspers
authors.forename: Marc
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dalod
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Schwartz-Cornil
authors.forename: Pascale
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Quéré
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D002645:Chickens; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology*; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D008264:Macrophages / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology; D051379:Mice; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology