CD11b⁻ and CD11b⁺ mature thymic DCs.

Mature thymic DCs comprise 2 populations segregated by CD11b expression. DCs were released from a thymus tissue sample, light-density cells selected, and non-DC lineages including T and B cells depleted. The enriched DCs were then immunofluorescent stained and analyzed. (A) DCs were gated on the basis of high HLA-DR (Cy5) and positive CD86 (Texas Red) fluorescence. (B) HLA-DR^highCD86⁺ DCs express CD40 (FITC) and CD83 (PE). All express CD11c (PE); however, a major population (65%) lacks CD11b (FITC) expression and a minor population (35%) is CD11b⁺. This figure is representative of 4 separate thymuses.