Expression data for lymph node lymphatic endothelial cells and blood endothelial cells

Lymphatic endothelial cells (LEC) residing in lymph nodes (LN) have been shown to express genes normally restricted to one or a few tissues, termed peripheral tissue antigens (PTA). The expression of one of these PTA, tyrosinase, by LN-resident LEC has been shown to mediate peripheral T cell tolerance. We used a microarray approach to determine the gene expression profile of LN-resident LEC and blood endothelial cells as a comparison with the objective of determining the global PTA repertoire in these LN stromal populations. Skin draining and mesenteric lymph nodes were pooled from 6 week old adult C57BL/6 mice, minced, and enzymatically digested yielding single cell suspensions. Lymph node stromal cells were purified via CD45 magnetic bead negative selection and pure populations of lymphatic endothelial cells (LEC) and blood endothelial cells (BEC) were obtained via electronic cell sorting according to their expression of gp38 and CD31 (LEC: gp38+ CD31+, BEC: gp38- CD31+). Total RNA was extracted, amplified, and hybridized to Affymetrix microarrays. 3 paired independent samples of purified lymph node LEC and BEC were analyzed.