Intranodal dendritic cell relocalization during inflammation impacts T cell immunity

Abstract

Abstract Conventional dendritic cells (cDCs) are the critical antigen-presenting cells that initiate adaptive immunity in response to external inflammatory stimuli. We have previously shown that LN-resident cDC2s, a DC subset critical for generating CD4 T cell responses, reside in regions highly proximal to the lymphatic sinuses, enabling superior acquisition of draining soluble and particulate antigens. However, given that this peripheral positioning is distal from the deep LN paracortex and the T cell zone, we hypothesized that for optimal generation of adaptive immunity, LN-resident cDC2s must migrate intranodally from peripheral sites into the deep T zone in order to engage in cognate DC-T cell interactions during priming. Here, we show that s.c immunization with TLR-agonists, as well as infection with West Nile Virus, induces rapid relocalization of cDC2s into the deep T zone of the LN. This cDC2 relocalization requires Type 1 interferon in some, but not all, adjuvant immunizations, and is predominantly driven by increased CCR7 expression on cDCs after maturation. When lacking CCR7, LN-resident cDC2s failed to reposition to the T cell zone across multiple adjuvant comparisons, and this in turn led to a marked reduction in the activation and proliferation of CD4+ T cells. A decrease in the differentiation of Tfh cells was also observed, suggesting a possible impact on humoral immunity. Collectively, this work identifies a novel CCR7-mediated spatial reorganization of LN-resident cDC2s during inflammation, independent of peripheral migratory DCs, and its role in the generation of adaptive immunity.