Profile of Dendritic Cells Surface Biomarkers in Nasal and Oral Mucosa of Human Subjects Reactive to Grass Pollen and House Dust Mites

Abstract

Dendritic cells (DCs) play key roles in human allergic pathophysiology at different anatomic sites, such as the respiratory tract. To identify relationships between DCs subpopulations in the upper respiratory tract and atopic status, a public-available dataset (http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.50228) on nasal and oral DCs cell-surface biomarkers expression following allergen challenge (through skin prick test) was re-analyzed, with regression and principal component analysis (PCA), to identify profiles of DC cell-surface biomarkers based on the allergen reactivity. The dataset included immunohistochemical measures on CD207 (langerin), CD1a, BDCA-1 to -4 nasal and oral epithelium and lamina propia, as well as demographic information (age, gender), history of respiratory disease, and allergen skin provocation (grass pollen or house dust mite). Subjects with reactivity to grass pollen had different DCs cell-surface biomarker profiles than subjects reactive to house dust mite in both nasal and oral mucosal epitheium and lamina propia. Except for BDCA-3 and 4, reactivity to grass pollen yielded higher expression of DC cell-surface biomarkers in nasal epithelium. In nasal lamina propia, subject reactive to grass pollen had higher expression of BDCA-1 and -2. In the oral epithelium and lamina propia, subjects reactive to house dust mite had higher expression to only CD1a. Graphical evaluation with PCA of both nasal and oral mucosa of DC cell-surface biomarkers yielded principal components explaining three clusters in oral mucosa; two in nasal mucosa. These findings suggest that different allergen activate differently specific innate immune cells, including different DCs subpopulations at different anatomical sites.