[Role of Toll-like receptor 4 in mouse bone marrow-derived dendritic cell maturation induced by β2GPI]

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the role of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) in mouse bone marrow-derived dendritic cell maturation induced by beta-2-glycoprotein I (β2GPI).

Methods: The recombinant murine granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (rmGM-CSF) and interleukin-4 (rmIL-4) were utilized to induce bone marrow cells from TLR4 intact (C3H/HeN) mice and TLR4 defective (C3H/HeJ) mice into immature dendritic cells (iDCs) in vitro. The iDCs were further stimulated by β2GPI or LPS (as a positive control), and the morphological changes of cells were observed under an inverted light microscope, the expression changes of surface molecules on cells were analyzed with flow cytometry, and the levels of IL-12 and TNF-α secreted by cells were detected by ELISA.

Results: The DCs from C3H/HeN mice showed more protrusions and displayed more mature in morphology in response to β2GPI or LPS, compared with those from C3H/HeJ mice. The expressions of surface molecules, CD11c and MHC-II, were higher on DCs from C3H/HeN mice than those from C3H/HeJ mice (P<0.05). And the levels of IL-12 and TNF-α secreted by DCs from C3H/HeN mice were also higher than those from C3H/HeJ mice (P<0.01).

Conclusion: TLR4 plays an important role in the process of mouse bone marrow-derived dendritic cell maturation induced by β2GPI.