Role of FMS-like tyrosine kinase-3 ligand elicited dendritic cell subsets in acute lung injury in response to S. pneumoniae infection

We recently showed that increased dendritic cell (DC) pool sizes in the lungs of mice subsequent to application of fms-like tyrosine kinase-3 ligand (Flt3L) impaired the lung host defense against S. pneumoniae. However, the underlying cellular and molecular pathways are incompletely understood. We here investigated the impact of Flt3L deficiency or transient Flt3L application on lung DC pool subset compositions in mice to determine their contribution to acute lung injury in response to S. pneumoniae. Therefore, lung DC subset profiles as well as changes in lung permeability and bacterial loads were determined in…