IL-3 in dendritic cell development and function: a comparison with GM-CSF and IL-4.
Dendritic cells (DC) develop in vivo from hematopoietic precursor cells. This process can be mimicked in vitro by growth factor stimulation. Among those factors granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) is the best known and most widely used for generation of rodent and human DC of the myeloid lineage. GM-CSF is often combined with interleukin-4 (IL-4) to suppress macrophage (Mph) outgrowth in cultures of human cells, but this does not apply to the mouse, and detailed analyses on the role of IL-4 are rare. Despite evidence for the importance of GM-CSF for DC development derived from in vitro data, GM-CSF-deficient mice are largely normal with respect to their DC populations. This raised the interest in other growth factors for DC. IL-3 can also support DC growth in vitro, but has been neglected for some years. Now it has been revived by a series of publications. In this review, some new features of myeloid DC regarding their early developmental stages, the GM-CSF/IL-4-interplay, and the role of IL-3 are summarized.
Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Erlangen, Hartmannstr. 14, 91052 Erlangen, Germany. lutz@derma.imed.uni-erlangen.de
Manfred B
MB
Lutz
D000818:Animals; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D016178:Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor / Q000502:physiology*; D007377:Interleukin-3 / Q000502:physiology*; D015847:Interleukin-4 / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL
D007377:Interleukin-3; D015847:Interleukin-4; D016178:Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor