Dendritic cells (DC) are the most potent antigen-presenting cells for initiating immune responses. DC maturation can be induced by exposing of immature DC to pathogen products or pro-inflammatory factor, which dramatically enhances the ability of DC to activate Ag-specific T cells. In this study, a recombinant calreticulin fragment 39-272 (rCRT/39-272) covering the lectin-like N domain and partial P domain of murine CRT has been expressed and purified in Escherichia coli. Functional analysis studies revealed that rCRT/39-272 has potent immunostimulatory activities in both activating human monocytes and B cells to secrete cytokines. rCRT/39-272 can drive the activation of bone marrow derived DC in TLR4/CD14 dependent way, as indicated by secretion of cytokines IL-12/IL-23 (p40) and IL-1β. Exposure of DC to rCRT/39-272 induces P-Akt, suggesting that rCRT/39-272 induces maturation of DC through PI3K/Akt signaling pathway. The results suggest that soluble rCRT/39-272 is a potent stimulatory agent to DC maturation in TLR4/CD14 and PI3K/Akt dependent pathway. It may play important roles in initiating cellular immunity in vivo and the T cell response in vitro. Thus it could be used for study of DC-based tumor vaccines.
Keywords: Calreticulin; DC; PI3K/Akt; TLR4/CD14.