Complement receptors CR3 (CD11b/CD18) and CR4 (CD11c/CD18) belong to the family of beta2 integrins and are expressed mainly by myeloid cell types in humans. Previously, we proved that CR3 rather than CR4 plays a key role in phagocytosis. Here we analysed how CD11b and CD11c participate in cell adhesion to fibrinogen, a common ligand of CR3 and CR4, employing human monocytes, monocyte-derived ma...

Dendritic cells (DCs) regulate innate and acquired immunity through their roles as antigen-presenting cells. Specific subsets of mature DCs, including monocyte-derived and lymphoid-derived DCs, can be distinguished based on distinct immunophenotypes and functional properties. The leukocyte integrin, CD11c, is considered a specific marker for DCs and it is expressed by all DC subsets. We created...

Gastrointestinal helminth infections are extremely prevalent in many human populations and are associated with downmodulated immune responsiveness. In the experimental model system of Heligmosomoides polygyrus, a chronic infection establishes in mice, accompanied by a modulated Th2 response and increased regulatory T cell (Treg) activity. To determine if dendritic cell (DC) populations in the l...

PURPOSE CD11c is an antigen receptor predominantly expressed on dendritic cells (DC), to which antigen targeting has been shown to induce robust antigen-specific immune responses. To facilitate targeted delivery of tumor antigens to DCs, we generated fusion proteins consisting of the extracellular domain of human HER or its rat homologue neu, fused to the single-chain fragment variable specific...

Human γδ T cells augment host defense against tumors and infections, and might have a therapeutic potential in immunotherapy. However, mechanism of γδ T cell proliferation is unclear, and therefore it is difficult to prepare sufficient numbers of γδ T cells for clinical immunotherapy. Recently, natural killer (NK)-like CD56(bright)CD11c(+) cells were shown to promote the proliferation of γδ T c...

To analyze the activity of the CD11c promoter during myeloid differentiation without the limitations of transient expression systems, we have stably transfected the myeloid U937 cell line with the pCD11C361-Luc plasmid, in which the expression of the firefly luciferase cDNA is driven by the CD11c promoter region -361/+43, previously shown to confer myeloid specificity to reporter genes. The sta...

Estrogens increase aspects of innate immunity and contribute to sex differences in the prevalence of autoimmune diseases and in response to infection. The goal of the present study was to assess whether exposure to 17beta-estradiol (E2) affects the development and function of bone marrow-derived dendritic cells and to determine whether similar changes are observed in CD11c(+) splenocytes expose...

OBJECTIVE Atherosclerosis is associated with monocyte adhesion to the arterial wall that involves integrin activation and emigration across inflamed endothelium. Involvement of β(2)-integrin CD11c/CD18 in atherogenesis was recently shown in dyslipidemic mice, which motivates our study of its inflammatory function during hypertriglyceridemia in humans. METHODS AND RESULTS Flow cytometry of blo...

Multiple sclerosis is the most frequent chronic inflammatory disease of the CNS. The entry and survival of pathogenic T cells in the CNS are crucial for the initiation and persistence of autoimmune neuroinflammation. In this respect, contradictory evidence exists on the role of the most potent type of antigen-presenting cells, dendritic cells. Applying intravital two-photon microscopy, we demon...

AIMS The importance of transforming growth factor beta (TGFβ) as an immune regulatory cytokine in atherosclerosis has been established. However, the role of TGFβ signalling in dendritic cells (DCs) and in DC-mediated T cell proliferation and differentiation in atherosclerosis is unknown. METHODS AND RESULTS Here, we investigated the effect of disrupted TGFβ signalling in DCs on atherosclerosi...