COMPARATIVE-ANALYSIS OF DENDRITIC CELLS DERIVED FROM BLOOD MONOCYTES OR CD34(+) HEMATOPOIETIC PROGENITOR CELLS

In human tissues different populations of dendritic cells (DC) emerge from hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPC) in the bone marrow with the intermediate steps of differentiation not being completely understood. In vitro, DC can be directly obtained from HPC or from blood monocyte s (MO) cultured in the presence of GM-CSF and additional cytokines. We compared the antigenic profile of DC derived from either MO or HPC an d studied their capacity to stimulate naive lymphocytes (LY) in the al logeneic mixed lymphocyte reaction. Both types of DC expressed high le vels of CD1a, MHC class II, CD80, CD86 and CD40 and were potent stimul ators of LY proliferation. DC of HPC origin, though, induced a stronge r mixed lymphocyte reaction than MO-derived DC and showed a slightly h igher average expression of costimulatory antigens. Low-level expressi on of CD14 did not negatively correlate with DC function on DC stimula ted with lipopolysaccharide and was even slightly higher expressed on DC differentiating from HPC than on DC from CD14(+) MO.