Dendritic cell function in mice lacking Plexin C1

Abstract

Semaphorins are secreted or transmembrane proteins that provide essential repulsive guidance cues to growing axons or endothelial cells through their receptors of the Plexin and Neuropilin family. Semaphorins and Plexins are also expressed in the immune system where their function remains elusive. In particular, Plexin C1 is expressed by mouse dendritic cells (DCs) and is the receptor for the poxvirus semaphorin homolog A39R. We previously found that Plexin C1 engagement by A39R inhibits integrin-mediated DC adhesion and chemokine-induced migration. Here, we show that a cellular ligand for Plexin C1 is expressed both by activated T cells and DCs, suggesting that Plexin C1 might be engaged on DCs both in cis and in trans. We used Plexin C1(-/-) mice to explore the role of Plexin C1 in DC function. DC development is unaffected in these mice. In two different in vivo assays, Plexin C1(-/-) DC migration to lymph nodes (LNs) was lower than that of wild-type (WT) DC but this difference was not statistically significant. Plexin C1(-/-) bone marrow-derived DCs induced normal in vitro T cell responses but reduced in vivo T cell responses when injected subcutaneously to WT mice. Finally, in vivo T cell responses to ovalbumin peptide and contact hypersensitivity to dinitrofluorobenzene were slightly decreased in Plexin C1(-/-) mice. These results suggest a role for Plexin C1 in DC migration or mobility within the LNs.