Chicken splenic conventional dendritic cell and macrophage subsets can be identified by differential expression of CSF1R and CD11d using the CSF1R-reporter transgenic chickens

The spleen is a major site for the immunological responses to blood-borne antigens that is coordinated by various cells of the mononuclear phagocyte system (MPS). In the chicken spleen a number of different mononuclear phagocytic cells are distributed between the peri-ellipsoid white pulp and peri-arteriolar lymphoid sheaths. Limited knowledge is available on the functionality and transcriptome of different splenic mononuclear phagocytic cells in chickens. Using the CSF1R-reporter transgenic chickens, in which cells of the MPS express a transgene under the control elements of the chicken CSF1R, an in depth characterisation and analysis of these cells was performed. Overall, our study extends the knowledge MPS of the chicken spleen that has led to the characterisation of a number of different mononuclear phagocytic cells.