Effects of proteoglycan extracted from nasal cartilage of salmon heads on maturation of dendritic cells derived from human peripheral blood monocytes.

Dendritic cells (DCs) play an essential role in the immune system. The transition from immature DC (iDCs) to mature DCs (mDCs) requires appropriate stimuli such as pro-inflammatory cytokines. Proteoglycans (PGs) are one of the main components of extracellular matrix, and some types of PGs are known to induce maturation of murine DCs. Recent studies have investigated the potential benefits of PG from nasal cartilage of salmon head (S-PG). This study investigated the effects of S-PG on maturation of human monocyte-derived DCs. iDCs were prepared from human monocytes using the appropriate cytokines and then stimulated by S-PG alone. In another experiment, iDCs were stimulated by a combination of pro-inflammatory cytokines (MIX) plus S-PG. Although the stimulation of S-PG alone did not induce phenotypic maturation from iDCs, CD40 expression on DCs stimulated by S-PG alone was lower than that of iDCs. In contrast, the phenotypic and functional characteristics of DCs stimulated by MIX+S-PG were similar to those of DCs stimulated by MIX alone. As a result, S-PG did not demonstrate a significant effect with regard to maturation of human monocyte-derived DCs.