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* Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, VUMC, Amsterdam; and
Division of Immunological and Infectious diseases, TNO Prevention and Health, Leiden, The Netherlands
Correspondence: C. D. Richters, Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, VUMC, Van der Boechorststraat 7, 1081 BT Amsterdam. E-mail: CD.Richters.Cell{at}med.vu.nl
| ABSTRACT |
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Key Words: antigen presentation tumor cells GM-CSF Langerhans cells
| INTRODUCTION |
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Several methods to generate DC in vitro have been developed from bone marrow [3 , 4 ] or blood monocytes [5 , 6 ]. The last method, giving rise to the monocyte-derived DC (MoDC), seems to be the most practical method for clinical trials to induce antitumor responses, because it is not difficult to obtain peripheral blood from the patient. In the first studies, MoDC were very effective when used as prevaccination against tumors in mice [7 ]. In patients, substantial positive results against melanoma have been demonstrated [8 , 9 ]. To optimize results in patients, it is important to study the in vitro conditions resulting in MoDC with efficient capacity to activate cytotoxic T cells. In addition, it is crucial that MoDC are really able to migrate to T-cell areas of draining lymph nodes. However, little is known about the migratory capacities of MoDC so far.
In earlier migration experiments with isolated Langerhans cells (LC) or spleen DC, we used a rat model using the PVG-RT7b rats as donors and the congeneic PVG rats as recipients [10 11 12 ]. The leukocytes of the PVG-RT 7b rats bear an epitope of the leukocyte-common antigen that can be recognized by the antibody His 41. The congeneic PVG rats do not express this marker [13 ]. The advantage of this model is that injected cells can be visualized in the lymph node after migration. The process itself cannot be influenced by labeling procedures of the cells prior to injection.
In the present study, we used this model to examine the migratory capacities of MoDC after subcutaneous (s.c.) injection in the hind footpad. Therefore, we generated MoDC from rat blood using rat recombinant granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and interleukin (IL)-4. Phenotypical and functional characterization showed that these rat MoDC were comparable with the described MoDC generated from human blood monocytes [5 , 6 ]. We analyzed phenotype and function of the MoDC and the cells from where they were generated, i.e., monocytes. Furthermore, we quantified the numbers of migrated MoDC present in the lymph nodes to determine the efficiency of migration and compare this with the known capacities of LC [10 , 11 ].
| MATERIALS AND METHODS |
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Generation of MoDC
Rats were placed in a mixture of O2/CO2 until they reached unconsciousness. Then, 610 ml heparinized blood was obtained by heart puncture, resulting in death of the animal. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) were separated from erythrocytes and granulocytes by centrifugation on a density gradient (Lymphoprep; Nycomed, Oslo, Norway). PBMC were placed into culture for 2 h in six-wells plates in
-RPMI [RPMI 1640, supplemented with 2 mmol/L glutamine, 100 µg/mL penicillin, 100 µg/mL streptomycin, and 10% heat-inactivated fetal calf serum (FCS), from Gibco Ltd., Paisley, washing gently using warm (37°C) medium. In some experiments, the nonadherent cells were used to obtain T cells for in vitro antigen-presentation assays (see below). Adherent cells were cultured for 7 days in medium containing rat recombinant GM-CSF and IL-4 at a concentration of 5 ng/ml (PharMingen, San Diego, CA). At day 7, nonadherent cells were isolated by collecting the medium. The cells were spun down and counted. Viability of the cells was >95% as determined using trypan blue exclusion.
In some additional experiments, we examined the effect of the maturation state of the MoDC on migration. We then added lipopolysaccharides (LPS) to the wells (1 µg/ml from Eschericia coli; Difco, Detroit, MI) at day 6 to induce maturation of the MoDC.
Isolation of monocytes
Heparinized blood (610 ml) was obtained by heart puncture. PBMC were separated from erythrocytes and granulocytes by centrifugation on a density gradient (Lymphoprep; Nycomed). PBMC were then incubated for 60 min in serum and 2% gelatin (Merck, Darmstadt, Germany)-coated culture flasks. Nonadherent cells were washed away, and adherent cells were isolated using trypsine (0.18%)/ethylenediaminetetraacetate (EDTA; 10 mM; Merck) solution. Purity of the isolated cells ranged from 80% to 95% monocytes; contaminating cells were T and B cells. The percentage of monocytes in cell population was identified with ED-9 [14
] antibodies.
Characterization of MoDC
Cytocentrifuge preparation of isolated cells was made to study their phenotype. Acid phosphatase activity was visualized according to M. S. Burnstone [15
] with naphtol AS-BI phosphate (Sigma Chemical Co., St. Louis, MO) as substrate. The incubation was performed at 37°C for 60 min. Thereafter, the cytospins were counterstained using haematoxilin (Gurr; BDH Ltd., Poole, UK).
The immunophenotype of the isolated cells was examined by flow cytometry. The following monoclonal antibodies (mAb) were used: OX-6 against major histocompatibility complex class II (MHC II), OX-62 recognizing spleen DC [16 ], anti-rat B7-2 (PharMingen), and anti-rat CD11c (Serotec, Oxford, UK). Cells were resuspended in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) with 0.1% FCS and incubated with the first antibody for 45 min at 4°C. For isotype controls, mouse anti-human CD4 [immunoglobulin G (IgG)1] and CD58 (IgG2a) antibodies with no cross-reactivity with rat cells were used.
Cells were washed twice with PBS and incubated for 45 min with rabbit anti-mouse phycoerythrin (PE) as secondary antibody (Dako, Denmark) and 2% normal rat serum to block nonspecific binding. Analysis was performed on a FACScan flow cytometer (Becton Dickinson, San Jose, CA) using CellQUest software.
In vitro antigen presentation
In this assay, we compared the capacity of MoDC and monocytes to stimulate a secondary T-cell response. Autologous T cells were isolated from the nonadherent cells that were harvested during the procedure to generate the MoDC or during the isolation procedure of the monocytes. These nonadherent cells were incubated with beads coated with sheep anti-rat IgG to remove B cells (Dynal, Oslo, Norway). The remaining cells were 9598% T cells, as determined by positive staining for OX-52. The different cell populations (MoDC, monocytes) were cultured in various concentrations with these autologous T cells in the presence of the antigen Candida albicans (5 µg/ml; ARTU Biologicals, Lelystad, The Netherlands). Cells (1x105 per well) were cocultured for 4 days in 96-well microtiter plates (Greiner, Alphen a/d, Rijn, The Netherlands) in triplo. Six hours before harvesting, 3H-thymidine (25 Ci/mmol; Amersham International, Amersham, UK) was added to each well. Incorporation of the isotope was measured using a liquid scintillation counter.
In vivo T-cell priming
In this assay, the capacity of MoDC and monocytes to prime T cells in vivo was studied. Isolated MoDC and monocytes were pulsed with 5 mg/ml ovalbumin (OVA; type VII; Sigma Chemical Co.) for 60 min. After washing twice, 1 x 105 cells were injected s.c. into the hind footpads of syngeneic recipient rats. Six days after injection, the popliteal lymph nodes were removed. A cell suspension was prepared by mincing the node using scissors. The cells were separated further by passage through monodur gauze (Stokvis, Ijmuiden, The Netherlands). The cells (1x105 per well) were cultured in 96-well microtiter plates in triplicate with or without OVA (5 µg/ml) in the medium for 4 days. Six hours before cell harvesting, 3H-thymidine (1 µCi per well, 25 Ci/mmol; Amersham) was added to the cells, and incorporation of the isotope was measured using a liquid scintillation counter.
Migration of cells
To study the capacity of the isolated cells to migrate to the draining lymph node, we used the PVG-RT 7b rats as donors and the PVG rats as recipients. These animals differ only at one epitope on CD45, which can be recognized using the His 41 antibody [13
].
MoDC or monocytes (2x105) in a volume of 0.1 ml PBS were s.c. injected in the hind footpad after the animals were anaesthetized with ether. After injection (1 or 4 days), animals were sacrificed, and the draining popliteal lymph nodes were taken out. To study localization of the His 41+ cells, the lymph nodes were frozen in liquid nitrogen. Cryostate sections were prepared and stained with the His 41 antibody to detect migrated cells.
For examination of the efficieny of MoDC migration, we quantified the numbers of migrated His 41+ cells in the lymph node. After injection (1 or 4 days) of 2 x 105 MoDC, the lymph nodes were removed and minced thoroughly using scissors as described earlier [10 , 11 ]. The cells were separated further by passage on nylon gauze (Monodur; Stokvis) and counted using a Bürker chamber. Cytocentrifuge preparations were made and stained with His 41 to count the numbers of positive cells.
Immunohistochemistry
To study migration of injected cells, His 41 was used as primary antibody. The cryostate sections or cytocentrifuge preparations of the lymph nodes were further stained with the indirect APAAP method described by Cordell et al. [17
]. Briefly, the slides were fixed in acetone for 10 min. After incubation with His 41, the slides were washed and incubated with rabbit anti-mouse IgG (Dakopatts, Glostrup, Denmark). Normal rat serum was added at a final dilution of 1:50 to block aspecific binding. Thereafter, the slides were incubated with APAAP complexes (Dakopatts). Positive cells were stained with alkaline phosphatase substrate containing new fuchsine (Gurr) and Naphtol AS-BI phosphate (Sigma Chemical Co.). Levamisole (1 mM; Sigma Chemical Co.) was added to block endogenous alkaline phosphatase activity.
| RESULTS |
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Functional capacities of MoDC
MoDC were capable of inducing higher secondary responses to C. albicans when compared with monocytes, as shown in Figure 3
. MoDC were able to prime naïve T cells in the popliteal lymph node when pulsed in vitro with OVA and injected s.c. into the hind footpad. They were more potent cells than pulsed monocytes, as can be seen in Figure 4
.
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In part of the experiments, we compared migration of MoDC that were cultured the last 24 h in the presence of 1 µg LPS with MoDC cultured without LPS. On cryosections, we did not observe clear differences in numbers of migrated cells between MoDC cultured with or without LPS.
| DISCUSSION |
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Rat MoDC resembled the described human MoDC [5 , 6 ]. The cells express high levels of MHC II and B7-2 molecules and are able to induce T-cell responses. Monocytes were less potent, which can be explained at least partly by their lower expression of MHC II and costimulatory molecules. When compared with rat spleen DC, the MoDC differed in OX-62 expression, the latter cell type being negative. However, rat LC are also negative for OX-62 [10 ].
Because MoDC may be useful for tumor vaccination purposes, it is important that they can migrate to the draining lymph node after s.c. injection. The possibility to generate rat MoDC enabled us to investigate migration of these cells using PVG-RT7 rats as donors and PVGs as recipients. These rat strains differ only at one epitope of the leukocyte-common antigen (CD45), which can be recognized by the mAb His 41. The advantage of this model is that labeling migrated cells can be performed after migration without possible side effects of the labeling procedure on the process. Using this model, we have observed that rat LC or spleen DC [10 11 12 ] migrate to the T-cell area of the popliteal lymph node after s.c. injection. In the present study, we show that rat MoDC are also able to migrate to the T-cell areas of the lymph node. In contrast, monocytes were observed in the medulla and B-cell areas.
When compared with our earlier migration experiments using LC [10 , 11 ], numbers of MoDC present in the lymph node at day 4 were slightly lower. We estimated that 4.3% of the initially injected cells had arrived in the draining lymph nodes, four days after s.c. injection; for the LC, this was up to 5% [11 ]. Thus, MoDC migration is almost as efficient as isolated tissue DC. Our percentages of MoDC present in the lymph nodes are about 10 times higher than data from one of the few published MoDC migration studies. Very low numbers were found (0.12% of the injected population, 36 h after injection) in this study, using rhesus macaques [20 ]. This may be a result of their labeling procedure prior to injection, which may change the migratory capacities of the cells or other differences in the experimental procedure to quantify migrated cells. In addition, that the state of maturation had no influence on the number of DC arriving in the lymph node was described in this study [20 ]. In our model, we also observed no differences in numbers of migrated cells on the cryosections between cells cultured with or without LPS.
Once migrated into the T-cell area of the lymph node, it is at present not clear how long DC survive. Disappearance within 3 days has been demonstrated [21 ], probably depending on whether the DC get in contact with antigen-specific T cells [22 ]. In our experiments, the number of MoDC present in the lymph node is higher on day 4 than on day 1, suggesting that the MoDC stay alive for at least 3 days. However, we do not know the relative contribution of cells still migrating from the injection site to the lymph node after 1 day to the total number of cells present in the lymph node after 4 days.
The freshly isolated monocytes seem to be a heterogeneic cell population. In contrast to the MoDC, monocytes, the precursor cells of the MoDC, migrated to various regions of the lymph node after s.c. injection. They could be observed in the medulla, the B-cell area, and sometimes in the T-cell area. Most probably, this migration to different areas of the lymph node is caused by expression of different chemokine receptors and chemokines [23 , 24 ]. When placed into culture with GM-CSF and IL-4, this heterogeneity remains, because only 50% of the cells became nonadherent with the typical features of DC. Further research is necessary to determine whether the adherent cells will finally develop into DC after longer culture periods or whether these cells remain adherent and develop characteristics of macrophages.
In conclusion, we showed that functional MoDC can also be generated in the rat model. They can migrate to the T-cell areas of the draining lymph nodes after s.c. injection, with about the same efficiency when compared with isolated-tissue DC, such as LC. Whether this will be enough to initiate an antitumor response is a subject currently under study in a rat tumor model. Our present results show that the numbers of MoDC arriving in the lymph node are sufficient to induce a primary T-cell response, as shown by our experiments using OVA as antigen.
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| ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS |
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Received March 5, 2001; revised December 7, 2001; accepted December 8, 2001.
| REFERENCES |
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J. Exp. Med. 179,1109-1118This article has been cited by other articles:
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