Teamwork for T cells

Abstract

Innate Immunity The location and interaction of innate immune cells in lymph nodes contribute to the induction of T cell responses, yet the exact cells that contribute are unclear. Using advanced imaging techniques to characterize the spatial arrangement of innate and adaptive immune cells during Toll-like receptor agonist–induced inflammation, Leal et al. show that lymph node–resident dendritic cells (DCs) and inflammatory monocytes cooperate to induce T cell responses. These DCs migrate to the T cell zone and present antigen to T cells. Circulating monocytes enter the lymph nodes through high endothelial venules and become spatially polarized in the T cell zone, consequently inducing distinct inflammatory microenvironments and effector T cell subsets. Thus, DCs and monocytes in the lymph node T cell zone work together to induce T cell responses. Sci. Immunol. 6 , eabb9435 (2021).