Induced microfold cells are required for the function of pulmonary tertiary lymphoid organs that promote mucosal immunity
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Tertiary lymphoid organs (TLOs) arise in response to infection and inflammation. We show that influenza-induced lung TLOs are comprised of inducible M cell (iM cell)-inducible bronchus-associated lymphoid tissue (iBALT) functional composites. iM cells are necessary for the appropriate architecture of adjacent immune follicles, which contain clonally expanded and sequence-diversified B cells. iM cell ablation results in fewer antigen-specific germinal center B cells, T follicular helper cells, and T helper memory cells, and a decrease in secretory IgA and IgG production accompanied by a loss of viral control. We find that the iM cells arise from epithelial progenitors that respond to a RANKL signal from infiltrating T cells, consistent with a model in which the patchy inflammation typical of pneumonia results in the unpredictable and varying distribution of coupled iM cells and adjacent iBALT. We propose that iM cells could be harnessed to promote infection control and enhance mucosal vaccination.
Authors: Manalee Vishnu Surve, Dawei Sun, Vanshika Panchal, Brian Lin, Po Kwok Tse, Sunghyun Kim, Qiaozhen Liu, Tivadar Török, Jackson A. Weir, Anthony Xu, John Vo Huynh, Victoria I. Cottrell, Hannah Willit, Giovanni Marrero, Vipin Kumar, Jiawei Sun, Steven Zwick, Viral S. Shah, Jason W. Griffith, Fei Chen, Jayaraj Rajagopal
Language: English
Topic: T-cell and B-cell Immunology
Subfield: Immunology
Field: Immunology and Microbiology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7225101234