Enrichment of innate lymphoid cell populations in gingival tissue

J.L. Brown, L. Campbell, J. Malcolm, A. Adrados Planell, J.P. Butcher, S. Culshaw*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

13 Citations (Scopus)
116 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) are a population of lymphocytes that act as the first line of immunologic defense at mucosal surfaces. The ILC family in the skin, lungs, and gastrointestinal tissues has been investigated, and there are reports of individual subsets of ILCs in the oral tissues. We sought to investigate the whole ILC population (group 1, 2, and 3 subsets) in the murine gingivae and the lymph nodes draining the oral cavity. We show that ILCs made up a greater proportion of the whole CD45+ lymphocyte population in the murine gingivae (0.356% ± 0.039%) as compared with the proportion of ILCs in the draining lymph nodes (0.158% ± 0.005%). Cytokine profiling of the ILC populations demonstrated different proportions of ILC subsets in the murine gingivae versus the regional lymph nodes. The majority of ILCs in the draining lymph nodes expressed IL-5, whereas there were equal proportions of IFN-γ- and IL-5 expressing ILCs in the oral mucosa. The percentage of IL-17+ ILCs was comparable between the murine gingivae and the oral draining lymph nodes. These data suggest an enrichment of ILCs in the murine gingivae, and these ILCs reflect a cytokine profile discrepant to that of the local draining lymph nodes. These studies indicate diversity and enrichment of ILCs at the oral mucosal surface. The function of ILCs in the oral cavity remains to be determined; here, we provide a premise of ILC populations that merits future consideration in investigations of mouse models and human tissues.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1399-1405
Number of pages7
JournalJournal of Dental Research
Volume97
Issue number12
Early online date21 Jun 2018
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Nov 2018

Keywords

  • innate immunity
  • cytokines
  • lymphocytes
  • oral cavity
  • mucosal immunity
  • flow cytometry

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Immunology and Microbiology

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