Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, Sari, Iran

Abstract

Background: Dendritic cells (DC) are a key regulator of the immune response, and interferon- beta (IFN-β) is considered an immunomodulatory molecule for DC.
Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ability of IFN-β treated DC to induce cytokine secretion by CD4+ T cells.
Methods: Dendritic cells were generated from blood monocytes with granulocyte-monocyte colony-stimulating factor and interleukin-4 with or without IFN-β. We analyzed the production of CD4+ T helper cytokines (IL-17, IFN- γ and IL-10) in the supernatant of the dendritic cell-T cell co- cultures by ELISA. We also studied the effects of HLA-G and costimulatory molecules on immature and mature DC.
Results: IFN-γ and IL-17 decreased significantly in the presence of HLA-Gbearing DC compared to control cultures (p<0.05).
Conclusion: Using the mixed leukocyte reaction, we found that DC treated with IFN-β mediated the inhibition of T cell activation via cytokine production. We conclude that this is important for preventing overactivation of the immune system.

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