title: Vaccination with dendritic cells pulsed with hepatitis C pseudo particles induces specific immune responses in mice.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To explore dendritic cells (DCs) multiple functions in immune modulation.
  
  
  METHODS
  We used bone-marrow derived dendritic cells from BALB/c mice pulsed with pseudo particles from the hepatitis C virus to vaccinate naive BALB/c mice. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) pseudo particles consist of the genotype 1b derived envelope proteins E1 and E2, covering a non-HCV core structure. Thus, not a single epitope, but the whole "viral surface" induces immunogenicity. For vaccination, mature and activated DC were injected subcutaneously twice.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Humoral and cellular immune responses measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and interferon-gamma enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot test showed antibody production as well as T-cells directed against HCV. Furthermore, T-cell responses confirmed two highly immunogenic regions in E1 and E2 outside the hypervariable region 1.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results indicate dendritic cells as a promising vaccination model for HCV infection that should be evaluated further.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University Hospital Heidelberg, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany. kilian_weigand@med.uni-heidelberg.de
authors.forename: Kilian
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Weigand
authors.forename: Franziska
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Voigt
authors.forename: Jens
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Encke
authors.forename: Birgit
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hoyler
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Stremmel
authors.forename: Christoph
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Eisenbach
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000276:immunology; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology; D057809:HEK293 Cells; D016174:Hepacivirus / Q000276:immunology*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007111:Immunity, Cellular / Q000276:immunology; D056724:Immunity, Humoral / Q000276:immunology; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D014758:Viral Core Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins / Q000276:immunology*; D014761:Viral Hepatitis Vaccines / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D014758:Viral Core Proteins; D014759:Viral Envelope Proteins; D014761:Viral Hepatitis Vaccines