Single cell suspensions were prepared from isolated lungs and stained for flow cytometry as described for nasal epithelial tissue [21 (link)]. Following fluorescent-labeled antibodies were used: APC/cy7*anti-rat CD45 (#202216, BD Biosciences), Brilliant Violet 421*anti-rat CD3 clone 1F4 (RV0) (#563948, BD Biosciences), APC*anti-rat CD11b clone WTS (RV0) (#562102 BD Biosciences), FITC* anti-rat RT1Dab (MHCII) (#205405, BioLegend, Inc.), PerCP/cy 5.5* anti-rat CD4 (#201519, BioLegend, Inc.), and PE* anti-rat CD161 (#205604, BioLegend Inc.). Live lymphocyte sized cells were stained with CD45 and CD3 to identify T cells. Further, the T cells were classified into T helper and cytotoxic T cells based on CD4 and CD8 expression, respectively. CD3-, CD11b-, CD4+ and MHCII+ cells were identified as plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs). CD3- and CD161+ cells were identified as natural killer (NK) cells. Gating strategies have been elaborated in detail in our previous publication [21 (link)].
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