Lymphocytes are recruited from blood by high-endothelial venules (HEVs). We performed transcriptomic analyses and identified molecular signatures that distinguish HEVs from capillary endothelium and that define tissue-specific HEV specialization. Capillaries displayed gene programs for vascular development. HEVs were enriched in genes for immune defense and lymphocyte migration. We identify capillary and HEV markers and candidate mechanisms for regulated lymphocyte recruitment including a lymph node HEV-selective transmembrane mucin; transcriptional control of functionally specialized carbohydrate ligands for lymphocyte L-selectin; HEV expression of molecules for transendothelial migration; and metabolic programs for lipid mediators of lymphocyte motility and chemotaxis. We also elucidate a carbohydrate recognition pathway that targets B cells to intestinal lymphoid tissues, defining CD22 as a lectin-homing receptor for mucosal HEVs.

Antigen presenting dendritic cells (DC) interpret environmental signals to orchestrate local and systemic immune responses. They govern the balance between tolerance and inflammation at epithelial surfaces, where the immune system must provide robust pathogen responses while maintaining tolerance to commensal flora and food antigens. The Wnt family of secreted proteins, which control epithelial as well as hematopoietic development and homeostasis, is emerging as an important regulator of inflammation. Here we show that canonical and non-canonical Wnts directly stimulate murine DC production of anti-inflammatory cytokines. Wnt3A triggers canonical β-catenin signaling and preferentially induces DC TGF-β and VEGF production, whereas Wnt5A induces IL-10 through alternative pathways. The Wnts also alter DC responses to microbe- or pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), inhibiting pro-inflammatory cytokine induction in response to toll like receptor ligands and promoting DC generation of Foxp3+ regulatory T cells. Moreover, although both Wnts suppress pro-inflammatory responses to bacterial endotoxin and to TLR1/2, TLR7 and TLR9 ligands, Wnt5A but not Wnt3A inhibits IL-6 production in response to the viral mimic, polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid. Wnt family members thus directly and differentially regulate DC functions, an ability that may contribute to the balance between tolerance and inflammation at epithelial sites of exposure to microbes and environmental antigens.

Chemerin is a protein ligand for the G protein-coupled receptor CMKLR1 and also binds to two atypical heptahelical receptors, CCRL2 and GPR1. Chemerin is a leukocyte attractant, adipokine, and antimicrobial protein. Although chemerin was initially identified as a highly expressed gene in healthy skin keratinocytes that was downregulated during psoriasis, the regulation of chemerin and its receptors in the skin by specific cytokines and microbial factors remains unexplored. Here we show that chemerin, CMKLR1, CCRL2 and GPR1 are expressed in human and mouse epidermis, suggesting that this tissue may be both a source and target for chemerin mediated effects. In human skin cultures, chemerin is significantly downregulated by IL-17 and IL-22, key cytokines implicated in psoriasis, whereas it is upregulated by acute phase cytokines oncostatin M and IL-1β. Moreover, we show that human keratinocytes in vitro and mouse skin in vivo respond to specific microbial signals to regulate expression levels of chemerin and its receptors. Furthermore, in a cutaneous infection model, chemerin is required for maximal bactericidal effects in vivo. Together, our findings reveal previously uncharacterized regulators of chemerin expression in skin and identify a physiologic role for chemerin in skin barrier defense against microbial pathogens.