Expression data from subsets of mouse spleen dendritic cells

Mouse splenic dendritic cells are divided into different subsets based on their phynotype. CD8alpha+ and CD8alpha- dendritic cells play different roles against pathogens. Cross-presentation is essential for immune defense against viruses, tumors and intracellular bacteria and CD8alpha+ DCs are more potent in cross-presentation compared to CD8alpha- DCs. We used microarrays to detail the global gene expression to analyze the underlying mechanism in CD8alpha+ dendritic cells cross-presentation. Splenic CD8alpha+ and CD8alpha- dendritic cells were sorted by flow-cytometer for RNA extraction and hybridization on Affymetrix microarrays. Thirty C57BL/6J mice were sacrificed for the splenic cells, splenic DCs were enriched by negative selection, then CD8alpha+ and CD8alpha- dendritic cells were separated based on CD11c and CD8alpha markers.