Korean J Nephrol.  2010 Jul;29(4):427-433.

Influence of Hypertonicity on the Phenotype and Function of Bone Marrow-Derived Dendritic Cells

• Kim SM
• Yang SH
• Kim YS

Abstract

PURPOSE
Dendritic cells (DCs) are considered the most professional antigen-presenting cells (APCs) because of their unique role in initiating immunity against threatening antigens. Recently, hypertonicity has been suggested to be involved in the activation and development of immune cells such as T cells. And tonicity enhancer binding protein (TonEBP) has been thought to play a pivotal role in this process. Here, we studied the maturation status of DCs and expression of TonEBP in DCs exposed to hypertonic condition.
METHODS
Murine bone marrow-derived DCs were generated in the presence of GM-CSF for 6 days, and then exposed to hypertonic media. We evaluated the functional capacities and maturation of DCs using flow cytometry, mixed lymphocyte reaction, and cytokine analysis. Also we investigated the expression of TonEBP in DCs cultured in variable hypertonic media.
RESULTS
Mild hypertonicity made CD11c+ DCs to have up-regulation of CD40, 80, and 86. DCs exposed to 320 mOsm/kg media stimulated allogeneic T cell proliferation most effectively compared to DCs exposed to other tonic conditions. However, DCs exposed to 400 mOsm/kg media showed similar stimulatory capacities to isotonic control. Consistent with the phenotype changes, IL-1, 6, and TNF-alpha secretion increased in CD11c+ DCs exposed to mild hypertonic condition. Though we confirmed that TonEBP was expressed in CD11c+ DCs, the amount of upregulation was not dependent on the degree of hypertonicity.
CONCLUSION
Our results suggest that hypertonicity enhances the maturation and activation of DCs.

Keyword

Dendritic cells; NFAT5; Osmolarity

MeSH Terms

Antigen-Presenting Cells
Carrier Proteins
Cell Proliferation
Dendritic Cells
Flow Cytometry
Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor
Interleukin-1
Lymphocyte Culture Test, Mixed
Osmolar Concentration
Phenotype
T-Lymphocytes
Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
Up-Regulation
Carrier Proteins
Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor
Interleukin-1
Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha