VISUALIZATION OF DERMAL DENDRITIC CELL RESPONSES TO STERILE INJURY

Abstract

The skin serves as a protective barrier to the external environment. It hosts different subsets of immune cells, each with a unique contribution to an immune response. Dendritic cells (DCs) are sentinels of the skin. While the activation and function of DCs during infection has been well established, there is currently no study detailing the spatiotemporal regulation of DC response to sterile injury. To address this question, we established an ear intravital imaging model that allows direct visualization of dermal DCs (DDCs) in response to sterile injury by laser ablation. Using this approach, we showed for the first time that DDCs exhibit a highly directed migratory behavior towards the site of sterile injury in a pertussis toxin-sensitive, neutrophil-independent manner. We extended our investigation in a clinically relevant model of ischemia-reperfusion (IR), by setting up a non-invasive model of ear skin IR by magnet clamping to model the initial cellular events during skin pressure ulcers. The aim is to understand the interactive behavior of DDCs during sterile injury, and subsequently in IR injury.