Immune surveillance of the lung by migrating tissue-monocytes
Abstract
Monocytes are phagocytic effector cells in blood and precursors of resident and inflammatory tissue macrophages. The aim of the current study was to analyse and compare their contribution to innate immune surveillance of the lung in the steady state with macrophage and dendritic cells. ECFP and EGFP transgenic reporters based upon Csf1r and Cx3cr1 distinguish monocytes from resident mononuclear phagocytes. We used these transgenes to study the migratory properties of monocytes and macrophages by functional imaging on explanted lungs. Migratory monocytes were found to be either patrolling within large vessels of the lung or locating at the interface between lung capillaries and alveoli. This spatial organisation gives to monocytes the property to capture fluorescent particles derived from both vascular and airway routes. We conclude that monocytes participate in steady-state surveillance of the lung, in a way that is complementary to resident macrophages and dendritic cells, without differentiating into macrophages.
Article and author information
Author details
Reviewing Editor
- Ronald N Germain, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, United States
Ethics
Animal experimentation: All experiment protocols were approved by the French animal experimentation and ethics committee and validated by "Service Protection et Santé Animales, Environnement" with the number A-75-2065. Sample sizes were chosen to assure reproducibility of the experiments and according to the 3R of animal ethic regulation.
Version history
- Received: April 1, 2015
- Accepted: July 10, 2015
- Accepted Manuscript published: July 13, 2015 (version 1)
- Version of Record published: August 3, 2015 (version 2)
Copyright
© 2015, Rodero et al.
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.
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