Classical dendritic cells are required for dietary antigen–mediated induction of peripheral Treg cells and tolerance

Oral tolerance prevents pathological inflammatory responses to innocuous foreign antigens by peripheral regulatory T cells (pT(reg) cells). However, whether a particular subset of antigen-presenting cells (APCs) is required during dietary antigen exposure for the 'instruction' of naive CD4(+) T cells to differentiate into pT(reg) cells has not been defined. Using myeloid lineage-specific APC depletion in mice, we found that monocyte-derived APCs were dispensable, while classical dendritic cells (cDCs) were critical, for pT(reg) cell induction and oral tolerance. CD11b(-) cDCs from the gut-draining lymph nodes efficiently induced pT(reg) cells and, conversely, loss of transcription factor IRF8-dependent CD11b(-) cDCs impaired their polarization, although oral tolerance remained intact. These data reveal the hierarchy of cDC subsets in the induction of pT(reg) cells and their redundancy during the development of oral tolerance.