Abstract

Follicular dendritic cells (FDCs) are a specialized type of stromal cells that exclusively reside in B-cell follicles. When inflammation occurs, the FDC network is reorganized to support germinal center (GC) polarization into the light zone (LZ) and dark zone (DZ). Despite the indispensable role of FDCs in supporting humoral responses, the FDC regulatory requirements remain incompletely defined. In this study, we unexpectedly observed an accumulation of CD169 + subcapsular sinus macrophage (SSM)-derived microvesicles (MVs) in the B-cell zone, which were tightly associated with the FDC network. Interestingly, a selective deposition of CD169 + MVs was detected in both GC LZ FDCs in secondary follicles and on predetermined LZ FDCs in primary follicles. The ablation of CD169 + MVs, resulting from SSM depletion, resulted in significantly decreased expression of LZ-related genes in FDCs. In addition, we found that CD169 + MVs could colocalize with fluorescently tagged antigen-containing immune complexes (ICs), supporting a possible role of CD169 + MVs in transporting antigens to the FDC network. Thus, our data reveal intimate crosstalk between FDCs and SSMs located outside B-cell follicles via SSM-released MVs, providing a novel perspective on the mechanisms underlying the regulation of FDC maturation and polarization.