AUTHOR=Porto-Pedrosa Maria Luiza Mundim , de Miranda Camila Dutra Moreira , Lopes Mateus Eustáquio , Nakagaki Brenda Naemi , Mafra Kassiana , de Paula Cristina Maria Pinto , Diniz Ariane Barros , Costa Karen Marques de Oliveira , Antunes Maisa Mota , Oliveira André Gustavo , Balderas Robert , Lopes Rodrigo Pestana , Menezes Gustavo Batista TITLE=High-dimensional intravital microscopy reveals major changes in splenic immune system during postnatal development JOURNAL=Frontiers in Immunology VOLUME=13 YEAR=2022 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/immunology/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2022.1002919 DOI=10.3389/fimmu.2022.1002919 ISSN=1664-3224 ABSTRACT=

Spleen is a key organ for immunologic surveillance, acting as a firewall for antigens and parasites that spread through the blood. However, how spleen leukocytes evolve across the developmental phase, and how they spatially organize and interact in vivo is still poorly understood. Using a novel combination of selected antibodies and fluorophores to image in vivo the spleen immune environment, we described for the first time the dynamics of immune development across postnatal period. We found that spleens from adults and infants had similar numbers and arrangement of lymphoid cells. In contrast, splenic immune environment in newborns is sharply different from adults in almost all parameters analysed. Using this in vivo approach, B cells were the most frequent subtype throughout the development. Also, we revealed how infections – using a model of malaria - can change the spleen immune profile in adults and infants, which could become the key to understanding different severity grades of infection. Our new imaging solutions can be extremely useful for different groups in all areas of biological investigation, paving a way for new intravital approaches and advances.