title: Human liver myeloid dendritic cells maturate in vivo into effector DC with a poor allogeneic T-cell stimulatory capacity.
abstract: We hypothesized that the relatively low immunogenicity of liver grafts might be related to a special maturation program of hepatic myeloid dendritic cells (MDC), yielding relatively immature effector MDC with weak allogeneic T-cell stimulatory capacity. To investigate whether maturation of human liver-derived MDC in vivo differs from maturation of MDC at another anatomical location, we compared the immunophenotypes and allogeneic T-cell stimulatory capacity of MDC from hepatic with those from inguinal lymph nodes (LN). MDC were purified by immunomagnetic selection from hepatic LN obtained from multi-organ donors (n = 8) and from inguinal LN of kidney transplant recipients (n = 7). MDC from hepatic LN had a significantly reduced capacity to stimulate allogeneic T-cell proliferation compared to MDC from inguinal LN. However, this was not due to an immaturity, since MDC from hepatic LN had significantly higher expressions of HLA-DR, CD80, and CD86 compared to MDC from inguinal LN. Hepatic MDC maturate in vivo to a mature type of effector MDC with relatively poor allogeneic T-cell stimulatory capacity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. j.kwekkeboom@erasmusmc.nl
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kwekkeboom
authors.forename: P P C
authors.initials: PP
authors.lastname: Boor
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sen
authors.forename: J G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Kusters
authors.forename: H A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Drexhage
authors.forename: E C
authors.initials: EC
authors.lastname: de Jong
authors.forename: H W
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Tilanus
authors.forename: J N M
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Ijzermans
authors.forename: H J
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Metselaar
mesh_terms: D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000276:immunology*; D006684:HLA-DR Antigens / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D007519:Isoantigens / Q000276:immunology; D008099:Liver / Q000166:cytology* / Q000276:immunology; D008213:Lymphocyte Activation; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D006684:HLA-DR Antigens; D007519:Isoantigens