Sustained in vivo depletion of splenic langerin+ CD8α+ dendritic cells is well-tolerated by lang-DTREGFP mice

•Sustained depletion of splenic langerin+ CD8α+ dendritic cells in lang-DTREGFP mice•No weight loss or toxicity with diphtheria toxin treatment in lang-DTREGFP mice•Diphtheria toxin treatment of lang-DTREGFP mice does not result in neutrophilia.

Splenic langerin+ CD8α+ dendritic cells (DCs) have exhibited a critical role in cross-priming CD8+ T cell responses. To further study the roles of this DC subset, a protocol for the continuous depletion of langerin+ CD8α+ DCs was established using the pre-existing lang-DTREGFP mouse model. Due to the fast turnover rate of splenic CD8α+ DCs, maintaining the depletion of langerin+ CD8α+ DCs required multiple diphtheria toxin (DT) treatments. We found that prolonged treatment with DT did not cause weight loss, or neutrophilia, as reported in some DT-based depletion models. Therefore, the in vivo depletion of murine langerin+ CD8α+ DCs can be maintained over time to analyse their function during the full course of an immune response.