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Isolation and Identification of Innate Lymphoid Cells (ILCs) for Immunotoxicity Testing

Protocol
First Online:
Part of the Methods in Molecular Biology book series (MIMB, volume 1803)

Abstract

Innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) comprise a family of innate immune cells that orchestrate mucosal immune responses: initiating, sustaining, and even curbing immune responses. ILCs are relatively rare (≤1% of lymphocytes in mucosal tissues), lack classical cell-surface markers, and can be divided into three subsets (type 1-3 ILCs) based on differences in cytokine production, phenotype, and developmental pathway. Because ILCs can only be identified by combinations of cell-surface markers and cytokine production, multicolor flow cytometry is the most reliable method to purify, characterize, and assess the functionality of ILCs. Here, we describe the methods for cell preparation, flow cytometric analysis, and purification of murine ILCs from the lung.

Key words

Innate lymphoid cells Respiratory tract Flow cytometry Mouse ILC2 ILC3 
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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2018

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Baker Institute for Animal Health and Department of Microbiology and ImmunologyCornell University College of Veterinary MedicineIthacaUSA
  2. 2.Department of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Center for Biomolecular Structure and DynamicsThe University of MontanaMissoulaUSA

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