Thymic XCR1+ dendritic cells undergo a functional maturation irrespective of type I interferon and of the microflora

Dendritic cells (DC) play critical roles in central and peripheral T cell tolerance. DC found in the steady-state periphery undergo an homeostatic, tolerogenic, maturation that promotes interaction with naive T cells and induction of abortive responses. In contrast, thymic DC are thought to exist solely in an immature state. In this study, we show that XCR1+ thymic DC constitutively mature into a stage characterized by high levels of molecules involved in T cell activation. This unanticipated mature stage corresponded to a third of the XCR1+ thymic DC and fully accounted for their ability to cross-present self-antigens to developing T cells. Transcriptomic analysis of the XCR1+ DC found in thymus and steady-state periphery revealed that their maturation involves profound and convergent changes. Unexpectedly, maturation resulted in down-regulation of genes conferring their specific function on XCR1+ DC. Paradoxically, upon maturation, central and peripheral tolerogenic XCR1+ DC up-regulated many genes thought to drive pro-inflammatory T-cell responses. These events occur independtly of type I interferons and of the microlofora, since the same maturation pattern is observed in XCR1+ tDcs from control, Ifnar1-KO and germ-free mice. Thus, our results reveal that thymic XCR1+ DC undergo constitutive maturation and emphasize the common mechanisms operating for both central and peripheral tolerance induction by XCR1+ DC. DC were isolated from thymus organ as previously described (Luche et al., Eur J Immunol. 2011;41:2165-75.PMID: 21630253), from B6 SPF control, B6 germ-free and Ifnar1-KO mice. DC subsets were sorted by flow cytometry according to the marker combinations described in the Sample records' phenotype field.