The murine beta-chemokine TARC is expressed by subsets of dendritic cells and attracts primed CD4+ T cells.
To investigate specific properties of dendritic cells (DC) which are not shared by other antigen-presenting cells, we compared gene expression patterns of mouse DC and macrophages by differential mRNA display. One of the cDNA identified coded for a murine homolog of the human beta-chemokine, thymus and activation-regulated chemokine (TARC). The gene is expressed in a subset of bone marrow-derived DC and is up-regulated after lipopolysaccharide (LPS) stimulation. In vivo, murine TARC (mTARC) is constitutively expressed by thymic DC, lymphnode DC and CD11c+ cells in the lung. No expression was detected in bone marrow-derived macrophages and LPS-activated B cells. Recombinant mTARC has no chemoattractant activity on naive peripheral CD4+ T cells. In contrast, mTARC induced migration of primed ovalbumin-specific CD4+ T cells with a preference for Th2 cells during the early phase of the T cell response. These observations suggest that mTARC directs migration of antigen-experienced T helper cells to DC in lymphoid as well as in non-lymphoid organs.
Lieberam
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Institute for Genetics, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany. lieberam@uni-koeln.de
Förster
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D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology; D015496:CD4-Positive T-Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D054414:Chemokine CCL17; D019742:Chemokines, CC / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000302:isolation & purification; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D008264:Macrophages / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology; D051379:Mice; D008809:Mice, Inbred C3H; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D017386:Sequence Homology, Amino Acid
C106230:CCL17 protein, human; C499538:Ccl17 protein, mouse; D054414:Chemokine CCL17; D019742:Chemokines, CC; D018076:DNA, Complementary