Defect in intraperitoneal cell recruitment in response to pathogens in the absence of pDCs. C57BL/6, IK^+/+ Rag^−/−, and IK^L/L Rag^−/− mice were injected intraperitoneally with 10⁹ heat-killed L major promastigotes (A), 2 × 10⁷ CFU of BCG (B), or 5 × 10⁸ CFU of heat-inactivated E coli (C). Intraperitoneal cells were collected before or 24 and 48 hours after injection, and the number of CD45⁺ cells (left panel), NK cells (middle panel), and monocytes/macrophages (Mos/Mfs, right panel) were determined. NK cells and monocytes/macrophages were characterized as shown in supplemental Figure 5. Each dot represents the cell number obtained from individual mice, and bars represent the mean. Data shown are the cumulative results of 3 experiments. ns indicates not significant (P > .05). *P < .05. **P < .01. ***P < .001.