title: Antigen-specific tolerogenic dendritic cells ameliorate the severity of murine collagen-induced arthritis.
abstract: Dendritic cells (DCs) play important roles in initiation of the pathogenic processes of autoimmune disorders, such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Tolerogenic dendritic cells (tolDCs) are generated from naïve DCs and induce T cell tolerance; thus, they represent a promising strategy for specific cellular therapy for autoimmune diseases. In this study, we generated green fluorescent protein (GFP)-labeled tolDCs and confirmed their phenotypes and biological functions. We found that tolDCs suppressed the memory lymphocyte response and exhibited strong tolerogenic potential; thus, these cells show promise for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. Additionally, a collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) mouse model was used to test the role of tolDCs in vivo. The results of a further mechanistic experiment revealed that tolDCs suppressed inflammatory arthritis at least partially by up-regulating regulatory T (Treg) cells. Collectively, our data suggest that tolDCs may be used as a promising alternative therapy for inflammatory arthritis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Jinan Central Hospital affiliated with Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China; Department of Biological Sciences, Wichita State University, Wichita, KS, United States of America.
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ning
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Jinan Central Hospital affiliated with Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Jianlu
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Qilu Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Aijun
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Jinan Central Hospital affiliated with Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Weiming
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Gong
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Qilu Hospital, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Jinqiu
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Jinan Central Hospital affiliated with Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China.
authors.forename: Tanghong
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Jinan Central Hospital affiliated with Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong, China; Department of Biological Sciences, Wichita State University, Wichita, KS, United States of America.
authors.forename: Shang-You
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Yang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001169:Arthritis, Experimental / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology*; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D007108:Immune Tolerance / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D050378:T-Lymphocytes, Regulatory / Q000276:immunology*