Sublingual immune cell clusters and dendritic cell distribution in the oral cavity.

The oral mucosa is the first line of defense against pathogenic bacteria and plays a vital role in maintaining tolerance to food antigens and commensal bacteria. We used CD11c reporter mice to visualize dendritic cells (DCs), a key immune cell population, in the oral cavity. We identified differences in DC density in each oral tissue region.

Surface protein profiling of prostate-derived extracellular vesicles by mass spectrometry and proximity assays.

Extracellular vesicles (EVs) are mediators of intercellular communication and a promising class of biomarkers. Surface proteins of EVs play decisive roles in establishing a connection with recipient cells, and they are putative targets for diagnostic assays. Analysis of the surface proteins can thus both illuminate the biological functions of EVs and help identify potential biomarkers.

Cutting Edge: Recruitment, Retention, and Migration Underpin Functional Phenotypic Heterogeneity of Regulatory T Cells in Tumors.

Tumor-infiltrating regulatory T cells (Tregs) have been extensively studied as therapeutic targets. However, not all infiltrating T cells exert their functions equally, presumably because of their heterogeneity and substantial turnover in tissues. In this study, we hypothesized that intertissue migration underlies the functional heterogeneity of Tregs.

Immunogenic tumor cell death promotes dendritic cell migration and inhibits tumor growth via enhanced T cell immunity.

Immunogenic tumor cell death enhances anti-tumor immunity. However, the mechanisms underlying this effect are incompletely understood. We established a system to induce tumor cell death and investigated its effect on dendritic cell (DC) migration and T cell responses using intravital photolabeling in mice expressing KikGR photoconvertible protein.

Tracking the fate and migration of cells in live animals with cell-cycle indicators and photoconvertible proteins.

Cell migration and cell proliferation are the basic principles that make up a living organism, and both biologically and medically. In order to understand living organism and biological phenomena, it is essential to track the migration, proliferation, and fate of cells in living cells and animals and to clarify the properties and molecular expression of cells. Recent developments in novel fluorescent proteins have made it possible to observe cell migration and proliferation as the cell cycle at the single-cell level in living individuals and tissues.