We thank

Dr Qingxian Lu and Dr Greg Lemke for proving TAM mutant mice. This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 30971459) and the Special Funds for Major State Basic Research Project LBH589 mw of China (Grant No. 2007CB947504). The authors indicated no potential conflicts of interest. Figure S1. The macrophages in serum-free medium were stimulated with 100 ng/ml LPS for the indicated time. Figures S2, S3 and S4. The cell lysates were prepared from macrophages 2 hr after treatment with TLR ligands (5 μg/ml Poly(I:C), 100 ng/ml LPS and 200 nm CpG). Figure S5. Inhibition of p65, IRF-3 and p38 phosphorylation by their respective inhibitors. “
“Targeting antigens to cross-presenting

dendritic cells (DCs) is a promising method for enhancing CD8+ T-cell responses. However, expression patterns of surface receptors often vary between species, making it difficult to relate observations in mice to other animals. Recent studies have indicated that the chemokine receptor Xcr1 is selectively expressed on cross-presenting murine CD8α+ DCs, and that the expression is conserved on homologous DC subsets in humans (CD141+ DCs), sheep (CD26+ DCs), and macaques (CADM1+ DCs). We therefore tested if targeting antigens to Xcr1 on cross-presenting DCs using antigen fused to Xcl1, the only known ligand for Xcr1, could enhance immune responses. Bivalent Xcl1 fused to model antigens specifically bound Progesterone CD8α+ DCs and increased proliferation of antigen-specific T cells. DNA vaccines encoding dimeric Xcl1-hemagglutinin (HA) fusion proteins click here induced cytotoxic CD8+ T-cell responses, and mediated

full protection against a lethal challenge with influenza A virus. In addition to enhanced CD8+ T-cell responses, targeting of antigen to Xcr1 induced CD4+ Th1 responses and highly selective production of IgG2a antibodies. In conclusion, targeting of dimeric fusion vaccine molecules to CD8α+ DCs using Xcl1 represents a novel and promising method for induction of protective CD8+ T-cell responses. “
“Lymph nodes (LNs) form the intersection between the vascular and lymphatic systems. Lymphocytes and antigen-presenting cells (APCs) traffic between these systems, but the barriers crossed during this trafficking in human LNs are poorly defined. We identified a population of cells in human LNs that lines the boundary between the parenchyma and lymphatic sinuses, consistent with descriptions of marginal reticular cells (MRCs) in murine LNs. Human MRCs are CD141high podoplanin+, CD90+, ICAM1+, and VCAM1+ but lack endothelial and hematopoietic cell markers, or alpha-smooth muscle actin. We then examined expression of the enzyme sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) lyase (SGPL1) relative to the boundary defined by MRCs.