Phenotype of the major murine DC subpopulations. The histograms show the phenotype of the principal murine DC subpopulations defined in Fig 1. CD8⁺ and CD8⁻ DC from the Peyer’s patches and LN have an almost identical phenotype than CD8⁺ and CD8^- spleen DC respectively (not shown). The cells were analyzed after triple staining with FITC-conjugated anti-CD11c, PE-conjugated anti-CD8, and biotin-conjugated antibodies against the indicated markers followed by streptavidin-tricolor. The forward scatter (FSC) of the different DC subpopulations is compared with that of peripheral T cells (black profiles in the FSC histograms). Grey profiles in the L-selectin histograms represent the background staining with a nonreactive control MoAb (biotin-conjugated anti-B220, clone RA3-6B2) for each DC subpopulation. Details dealing with the different Ig isotype-matched control antibodies used are given in Materials and Methods. The dotted profile in the DEC-205 histogram for skin LC represents the DEC-205 expression after overnight incubation. The vertical dotted lines mark the lower limit defining the expression at high levels of the corresponding marker. These data are representative of five to eight experiments with similar results. MES-LN: mesenteric LN; PER-LN: peripheral LN.