Method for generating immortal dendritic cell lines

摘要

Immortalized mammalian dendritic cell lines are provided that have characteristics of functional, mature dendritic cells; defined by surface phenotype, constitutive and inducible gene expression patterns, and functional effects on T lymphocytes. The cell lines are capable of continuous in vitro proliferation for extended periods of time. Of particular interest is the ability of the cell lines to present antigen in a stimulatory manner to naïve T cells. The dendritic cell lines are useful in gene discovery, the generation of dendritic cell subset-specific antibodies and probes; defining stages of dendritic cell differentiation and maturation; for induction of antigen specific stimulation of lymphocytes; for dissection of antigen specific anergy or tolerance in lymphocytes; for characterization of dendritic cell-natural killer cell interactions; for in vitro and in vivo analyses of dendritic cell-endothelial cell interactions; and for screening assays.