Phenotype and histological distribution of interstitial dendritic cells in the rat pancreas, liver, heart, and kidney.

The phenotype and the histological distribution of interstitial dendritic cells was investigated in the rat pancreas, liver, heart, and kidney by immunoperoxidase techniques. Monoclonal antibodies, directed against lymphocyte differentiation antigens (W3/25, W3/13, and Ox8) or against Ia antigens, revealed distinct phenotypes of these cells in all organs investigated--namely W3/25+Ia- dendritic cells, W3/25+Ia+ cells, and a small W3/25-Ia+ population. In the kidney cortex a W3/25+W3/13+ population was additionally shown. Interestingly, the phenotypically distinct cell populations also differed in their topographical distribution: W3/25+Ia+ cells were evenly scattered in the interstitium of the endocrine and exocrine pancreas, heart, and kidney. In contrast, W3/25+Ia- cells showed an additional predilection for connective tissue septa in the exocrine pancreas and for the kidney medulla. In the liver, phagocytic Kupffer cells were W3/25+Ia-, whereas the W3/25+Ia+ nonphagocytic dendritic cell population resided periportally and around central veins. These results show a marked heterogeneity of interstitial dendritic cells in the rat, which is discussed in terms of different cell lines or different activation or maturation stages of one single cell type.