Dynamic Imaging of Experimental Leishmania donovani-Induced Hepatic Granulomas Detects Kupffer Cell-Restricted Antigen Presentation to Antigen-Specific CD8( ) T Cells

Abstract

Kupffer cells (KCs) represent the major phagocytic population within the liver and provide an intracellular niche for the survival of a number of important human pathogens. Although KCs have been extensively studied in vitro, little is known of their in vivo response to infection and their capacity to directly interact with antigen-specific CD8(+) T cells. Here, using a combination of approaches including whole mount and thin section confocal microscopy, adoptive cell transfer and intra-vital 2-photon microscopy, we demonstrate that KCs represent the only detectable population of mononuclear phagocytes within granulomas induced by Leishmania donovani infection that are capable of presenting ..