Human B cells are alternative source of efficient antigen-presenting cells.

2004 SEP 1 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Human B cells that hyperexpress a triad of costimulatory molecules via avipox-vector infection are an alternative source of efficient antigen-presenting cells.

"Dendritic cells (DCs) are the most potent of the antigen-presenting cells (APCs). Preparation of sufficient numbers of mature DCs, however, is both costly and time-consuming. We have examined here the possibility of using an alternative source of APCs that would be easier to obtain, would not require extensive culture, and thus would be more applicable to human immunotherapy protocols," scientists in the United States report.

"We show here that freshly isolated human B cells can be efficiently infected by a replication-defective fowlpox recombinant vector, designated rF-TRICOM (triad of costimulatory molecules), to markedly increase surface expression of the human costimulatory molecule B7-1 and moderately increase expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and leukocyte function-associated antigen-3 (LFA-3)," stated Claudia Palena and collaborators at the National Cancer Institute. "Peptide pulsed rF-TRICOM-infected B cells were highly efficient in activating antigen-specific human T cells and shown to be superior to the use of CD40L in enhancing APC potency."

"Moreover, when ...