<i>In vitro</i> differentiation of Lin⁻ progenitor cells in response to <i>C. albicans</i>.

<p>Lin⁻ progenitor cells (400,000 cells/well in 0.5 ml) from C57BL/6, MyD88^−/−, TLR2^−/−, TLR4^−/− and Dectin-1^−/− mice were cultured in the presence of SCF, FL and IL-7 with medium alone (Medium), Pam₂CSK₄ (0.125 µg/ml), Curdlan (100 µg/ml) or inactivated yeasts of <i>C. albicans</i> ATCC 26555 [120 µg (dry weight) of cells/ml] for 7 days. (A) and (C) Cells were labelled with anti-CD11b and anti-CD11c antibodies and analyzed by flow cytometry. Cells were gated as population A (CD11b⁻ CD11c⁺, violet gate), population B (CD11b⁺ CD11c⁺, green gate), population C (CD11b⁺ CD11c⁻, red gate) and population D (CD11b^high CD11c⁺, blue gate). (B) Expression of mPDCA-1, Ly6C, CD8α, CD4 and F4/80 were analyzed in the gated populations; the percentage of positive cells is indicated. (D) The expression of c-Kit was analyzed by flow cytometry and indicated as % of positive cells, whereas the total number of cells was determined microscopically. (E) Expression of F4/80 was analyzed in CD11b^high CD11c⁺ and CD11b^high CD11c^low populations (blue gates). All cell populations analyzed are F4/80 positive but differ in the mean fluorescence intensity, as indicated Data represent means ± SD, from one representative experiment of three. * <i>P</i><0.05, ** <i>P</i><0.01 with respect to cells incubated with medium alone (Medium).