title: Pancreatic stellate cells do not exhibit features of antigen-presenting cells.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II molecules are expressed on professional antigen-presenting cells (APCs), and pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs) have endocytic and phagocytic functions and play a role in the immune responses of the pancreas. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether PSCs exhibit features of APCs.
  
  
  METHODS
  Rat and human PSCs were cultured with interferon-γ (IFN-γ) or an exogenous antigen, ovalbumin (OVA), and they were analyzed for expression of MHC II molecules by flow cytometry and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The cells simulated with IFN-γ expressed very little or no MHC class II molecules or human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DR at the transcriptional level. Stimulation with IFN-γ failed to induce expression of MHC class II molecules and HLA-DR molecules according to the results of flow cytometry. Dual-color flow cytometric analysis showed that approximately 95% of the PSCs took up OVA; however, none of the cells that took up OVA expressed MHC class II molecules or HLA-DR molecules.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Pancreatic stellate cells do not seem to be responsible for the MHC class II-dependent pathway of antigen presentation, suggesting that PSCs do not play a role in adaptive immunity as APCs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Tokyo Women's Medical University, Tokyo, Japan. kyoko@ige.twmu.ac.jp
authors.forename: Kyoko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shimizu
authors.forename: Kahoko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hashimoto
authors.forename: Junko
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tahara
authors.forename: Hirotsugu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Imaeda
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Andoh
authors.forename: Keiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shiratori
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017951:Antigen Presentation; D000938:Antigen-Presenting Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004705:Endocytosis; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006684:HLA-DR Antigens / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D000949:Histocompatibility Antigens Class II / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007371:Interferon-gamma / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D010047:Ovalbumin / Q000378:metabolism; D058954:Pancreatic Stellate Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D006684:HLA-DR Antigens; D000949:Histocompatibility Antigens Class II; D007371:Interferon-gamma; D010047:Ovalbumin