Fig. 2.

CD11c⁺ NK cells comprise a substantial portion of NK1.1⁺CD3⁻ cells in the uninfected liver. (A) Liver NPC from unmanipulated mice were enriched with anti-CD45 immunomagnetic beads and analyzed by flow cytometry. The control-plot is gated on CD3⁻ hepatic leukocytes to highlight conventional liver DC (NK1.1⁻CD11c^hiCD3⁻), CD11c⁺ NK cells (NK1.1⁺CD11c⁺CD3⁻), and CD11c⁻ NK cells (NK1.1⁺CD11c⁻CD3⁻). The percentage indicates the fraction of CD3⁻ cells. (B) FACS-purified DC, CD11c⁺ NK cells, and CD11c⁻ NK cells were stained with H&E after cytospin and imaged at 100× original magnification. Similar results were obtained from two separate experiments, and the microscopic appearances of each cell population were greater than 90% consistent. (C and D) CD45⁺ liver cells and splenocytes from uninfected mice were analyzed for the indicated surface markers by flow cytometry after gating on DC, CD11c⁺ NK cells, and CD11c⁻ NK cells. Closed histograms represent staining of the indicated surface markers, and open histograms represent isotype controls. Data are representative of a minimum of three separate experiments.