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.
Meier
Angela
A
Partners AIDS Research Center, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Fisher
Amelia
A
Sidhu
Harlyn K
HK
Chang
Judy J
JJ
Wen
Tom F
TF
Streeck
Hendrik
H
Alter
Galit
G
Silvestri
Guido
G
Altfeld
Marcus
M
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