Rapid loss of dendritic cell and monocyte responses to TLR ligands following venipuncture.
Blood samples from multiple sites are collected in multicenter trials, and frequently shipped to centralized laboratories for processing and comparable experimental evaluation. It is therefore of crucial interest to assess the preservation of immune cell functions after overnight shipment of whole blood. Here we evaluated the ability of pDCs, mDCs and monocytes to respond to TLR ligands at multiple timepoints following venipuncture as compared to immediate processing. Our results demonstrate a profound impairment of APC function, in particular of IFN-alpha production of pDCs, if whole blood was processed later than 6 h after venipuncture. Overnight shipment or extended rest of whole blood before processing therefore severely compromises the ability of APCs to respond to TLR ligands, and this has to be taken into consideration when designing multicenter trials.
Partners AIDS Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Angela
A
Meier
Amelia
A
Fisher
Harlyn K
HK
Sidhu
Judy J
JJ
Chang
Tom F
TF
Wen
Hendrik
H
Streeck
Galit
G
Alter
Guido
G
Silvestri
Marcus
M
Altfeld
D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D016898:Interferon-alpha / Q000276:immunology; D008024:Ligands; D009000:Monocytes / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology*; D015337:Multicenter Studies as Topic; D018962:Phlebotomy; D011309:Preservation, Biological; D013997:Time Factors; D051193:Toll-Like Receptors / Q000819:agonists* / Q000276:immunology
D016898:Interferon-alpha; D008024:Ligands; D051193:Toll-Like Receptors