PD-L1⁺ and XCR1⁺ dendritic cells are region-specific regulators of gut homeostasis.

Abstract

The intestinal mucosa constitutes an environment of closely regulated immune cells. Dendritic cells (DC) interact with the gut microbiome and antigens and are important in maintaining gut homeostasis. Here, we investigate DC transcriptome, phenotype and function in five anatomical locations of the gut lamina propria (LP) which constitute different antigenic environments. We show that DC from distinct gut LP compartments induce distinct T cell differentiation and cytokine secretion. We also find that PD-L1⁺ DC in the duodenal LP and XCR1⁺ DC in the colonic LP comprise distinct tolerogenic DC subsets that are crucial for gut homeostasis. Mice lacking PD-L1⁺ and XCR1⁺ DC have a proinflammatory gut milieu associated with an increase in Th1/Th17 cells and a decrease in Treg cells and have exacerbated disease in the models of 5-FU-induced mucositis and DSS-induced colitis. Our findings identify PD-L1⁺ and XCR1⁺ DC as region-specific physiologic regulators of intestinal homeostasis.