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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2024 Dec 8.
Published in final edited form as: Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2020 Aug 15;202(4):535–548. doi: 10.1164/rccm.201906-1123OC

Figure 7. cDC2 drive lymphoid neogenesis during COPD; a working model.

Figure 7

Elevated pulmonary levels of CXCL12, CXCL13 and cholesterol metabolites, produced during COPD, attract cDC2 and CD4+ T-cells to the site of TLO formation. Upon encounter, cDC2 drive IL-21+ Tfh-like cell polarization via the OX40L-OX40 axis and the secretion of cytokines like IL-6, IL-1β and TGF-β. The chronicity of this self-amplifying loop results in the formation of well-established TLOs during late-stage COPD in which Tfh-like cell clonality and proliferation is further sustained by cDC2.