title: IL-4 is more effective than IL-13 for in vitro differentiation of dendritic cells from peripheral blood mononuclear cells.
abstract: Dendritic cells (DCs) are the most potent professional antigen-presenting cells which can activate T cells to induce the primary immune response. For clinical studies, DCs are often differentiated in vitro from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) through treatment with granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and IL-4. However, IL-13, a cytokine closely related to IL-4, has also been reported to induce differentiation equally or more efficiently when used with GM-CSF. For the present study, we compared the DC characteristics exhibited by iDCs and LPS-matured DCs differentiated from PBMCs using GM-CSF and IL-4 or IL-13. Physical characteristics examined include cellular morphology and surface phenotype. Functional traits investigated include FITC-dextran uptake, IL-10 and IL-12 production, allostimulation and cytokine production by stimulated T cells and antigen-specific T cell stimulation. Compared with IL-13-derived DCs, IL-4 treatment yielded more differentiated DCs, with extensive dendrites and higher expression of DC-SIGN, DEC-205, CD86 and HLA-DR. In addition, IL-4 DCs were more efficient at inducing allogeneic T cell proliferation and immature IL-4 DCs had higher endocytic activity at low FITC-dextran concentrations (1 microg ml(-1)). Although IL-13 was capable of generating DCs from PBMCs, it was not as effective as IL-4 in generating DC phenotype and functionality. Thus, the use of GM-CSF and IL-4 is the more efficient treatment for inducing DC differentiation from PBMCs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2S2, Canada.
authors.forename: Justin S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Ahn
authors.forename: Babita
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Agrawal
mesh_terms: D000941:Antigens / Q000097:blood; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000276:immunology*; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000276:immunology; D004705:Endocytosis / Q000276:immunology; D006684:HLA-DR Antigens / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D018793:Interleukin-13 / Q000097:blood*; D015847:Interleukin-4 / Q000097:blood*; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000166:cytology* / Q000276:immunology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D000941:Antigens; D006684:HLA-DR Antigens; D018793:Interleukin-13; D015847:Interleukin-4