Compartmentalized production of CCL17 in vivo: strong inducibility in peripheral dendritic cells contrasts selective absence from the spleen.

2003

Dendritic cells (DCs)(*) fulfill an important regulatory function at the interface of the innate and adaptive immune system. The thymus and activation-regulated chemokine (TARC/CCL17) is produced by DCs and facilitates the attraction of activated T cells. Using a fluorescence-based in vivo reporter system, we show that CCL17 expression in mice is found in activated Langerhans cells and mature DCs located in various lymphoid and nonlymphoid organs, and is up-regulated after stimulation with Toll-like receptor ligands. DCs expressing CCL17 belong to the CD11b(+)CD8(-)Dec205(+) DC subset, including the myeloid-related DCs located in the subepithelial dome of Peyer's patches. CCL17-deficient mi…