Identification of a CD8α Dendritic Cell Subpopulation in Rat Spleen and Evaluation of Its OX-62 Expression

Rat spleen DC and bone marrow-derived DC were isolated and characterized by morphology and flow cytometry. We found a CD8α⁺ DC subpopulation representing 19–48% (27.4 ± 12.0) of total spleen DC. The OX-62 expression on total spleen DC was 41–59% (51.8 ± 7.5). Myeloid bone marrow-derived DC were negative for CD8α and OX-62. We demonstrated the coexpression of CD8α and OX-62 molecules, at least in a portion CD8α⁺ spleen DC. Both CD8α⁺ and CD8α⁻ spleen DC subpopulations separated by MACS were able to induce an in vivo primary immune response to OVA. The immune response induced by the CD8α⁻ DC subpopulation was higher (P < 0.05). We identified a CD8α⁺ DC subpopulation in rat spleen less effective in inducing an immune response than CD8α⁻ DC. Moreover, our results suggest the presence of DC subpopulations with different lineages in DC preparations based on OX-62 expression.