The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Dendritic Cells during Prion Disease

Figure 3

Mononuclear phagocytes (MNP) are a heterogeneous population of monocytes, macrophages, and dendritic cells and are abundant throughout the body. MNP are strategically situated at exposure sites such as in the epidermis or dermis of the skin (panels “(a)” and “(b),” resp.) and in the intestinal lamina propria where they provide a first line of defence against pathogens. (a and b) Whole-mount immunohistochemical detection of langerin⁺ Langerhans cells in the epidermis (green, panels “(a)”) and langerin⁺ conventional DC in the dermis (green, panels “(b)”). The boxed region in the upper panels is shown at higher magnification in the adjacent lower panels. (c) CD11c⁺ MNP (red) are abundant in Peyer’s patches and the intestinal lamina propria. SED, subepithelial dome region on Peyer’s patch; V, villus; broken line indicates the boundary of the epithelium overlying Peyer’s patch.

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