Phenotypic and functional properties of dendritic cells isolated from human peripheral blood in comparison with mononuclear cells and T cells

Dendritic cells (DCs) are pivotal for antigen presentation, T-cell priming and B-cell functions. Few studies have been carried out on DCs in human diseases, partly because the current procedures used for DC preparation include elaborate negative selection with monoclonal antibodies (MoAb) and prolonged culture in cytokine-enriched milieu, which may influence DC functions. Using physical density and their adherent properties, DCs were prepared from the blood of healthy subjects. Approximately 2% of human blood mononuclear cells (MNC) were shown to consist of DCs, yielding DCs of 80-90% purity. They expressed markers related to DCs (CD1a, CD11c, CD32 and CD83), costimulatory molecules (CD40, CD80, CD86), human leucocyte antigen (HLA) class I and II molecules and inducible nitric oxide (NO) synthase (NOS2), and lacked lymphocyte and monocyte markers (CD3, CD19, CD20, CD56 and CD14). Compared with blood MNC and T cells, DCs showed a high level of spontaneous proliferation and nitric oxide production, as well as strong proliferative responses in mixed leucocyte reactions. Enzyme-linked immunospot (ELISPOT) assays revealed higher levels of interleukin (IL)-4-, IL-10- and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma)-secreting cells among DCs than among MNC or T cells obtained from the same blood specimens, while levels of tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha)- and IL-6-secreting cells did not differ. The results demonstrate that the method used is fast, effective and competitively priced, and should be useful for studies of DCs in disease states.