In vitro generation of human CD141+ dendritic cells from CD14+ monocytes

Abstract

Human CD141+ (BDCA-3+) dendritic cells (DCs) are specialized to cross-presentation and, thus extensively studied for developing DC-based therapy against cancer. A series of attempts was made to generate CD141+ DCs from cord blood CD34+ hematopoietic progenitors to overcome a practical limitation, in vivo rareness. However, in vitro differentiation of CD141+ DC needs to be further investigated. In the present study, I identified CD141 expression in the well-known culture system that generates DCs from CD14+ monocytes in presence of GM-CSF and IL-4. After 8-days of the culture, CD141 was detected only on the cells which adhered to the bottom of the culture plate. The attached cells exhibited a typical feature of immature monocyte-derived DCs (moDCs), except for higher CD86 expression, more dendrites, and higher granularity compared to those which did not attach. Additional 3 days of culture further increased CD141 expression in the cells retaining adhesion, which partially expressed CELC9A. Indeed, they exhibited relatively effective uptake of dead cells. Interestingly, the attached moDCs differently responded to polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid (poly I:C) stimulation as well as the mixed lymphocyte reaction. Collectively, in vitro generation of human CD141+ DCs from CD14+ monocytes will contribute to further investigation into yielding human CD141+ DCs using peripheral blood monocytes.