Figure 3

The TLTs developing in murine models of chronic inflammation form a network of podoplanin⁺ stromal cells in the T zone, similar to LNs. Immunofluorescence analysis of frozen sections of pancreas from NOD and RIP-CXCL13 tg⁺ mice and kidney from RIP-LTα tg⁺ mice and peripheral LNs. A: B220⁺ B cells (green) and CD3⁺ T cells (red), the TRC marker podoplanin (podo, red) combined with the endothelial marker CD31 (green) in serial sections. Tg⁻ pancreata did not show reticular podoplanin staining typical for TRCs (data not shown). Scale bar = 100 μm. i indicates islet. B: Infiltrate labeled with podoplanin (red), the lymphatic vessel marker Lyve-1 (green), and DAPI⁺ nuclei (blue). Arrows indicate lymphatic vessels; and arrowheads, the more abundant fibroblastic reticular cells. Scale bar = 100 μm. C: Higher-magnification images of the T-cell–rich zone of the infiltrate labeled with podoplanin (red) and desmin and the conduit marker ER-TR7 (green). Scale bar = 20 μm. D: The podoplanin (red) and CD35 (green) staining showing two distinct stromal cell networks in infiltrates of RIP-CXCL13⁺ pancreas. Scale bar = 100 μm. Data are representative of at least three independent experiments.