IN VITRO METHOD OF EVALUATING THE POTENTIAL REACTION OF AN ANIMAL TO AN AGENT

• Main Authors: FAHLENKAMP, HEATHER, LI, CONAN, SANCHEZ-SCHMITZ, GUZMAN, MOE, DAVID, PARKHILL, ROBERT, WARREN, WILLIAM, L, HIGBEE, RUSSELL, DRAKE, DONALD, III
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French; German
• Published: 03.09.2008
• Subjects: BEER; BIOCHEMISTRY; CHEMISTRY; COMPOSITIONS THEREOF; CULTURE MEDIA; ENZYMOLOGY; INVESTIGATING OR ANALYSING MATERIALS BY DETERMINING THEIRCHEMICAL OR PHYSICAL PROPERTIES; MEASURING; METALLURGY; MICROBIOLOGY; MICROORGANISMS OR ENZYMES; MUTATION OR GENETIC ENGINEERING; PHYSICS; PROPAGATING, PRESERVING OR MAINTAINING MICROORGANISMS; SPIRITS; TESTING; VINEGAR; WINE

Dendritic cells (DCs) for research and clinical applications are typically derived from purified blood monocytes that are cultured in a cocktail of cytokines for a week or more. Because it has been suggested that these cytokine-derived DCs may be deficient in some important immunological functions and might not accurately represent antigen-presenting cell (APC) populations found under physiologic conditions, there is a need for methods that allow the generation of DCs in a more physiologically relevant manner. The present invention comprises a simple and reliable technique for generating large numbers of highly purified DCs, based on a single migration of blood monocytes through endothelial cells that are cultured in, for example, a Transwell® device. The resultant APCs, harvested from the lower Transwell® chamber, resemble other in vitro -generated DC populations in their expression of major histocompatability (MHC) and costimulatory molecules, ability to phagocytose foreign antigens, and capacity to trigger antigen-specific T cell responses.