Aim: To investigate the properties of exosomes secreted by dendritic cells(DCs) derived from human umbilical cord blood mononuclear cells(HUBMCs) and its enhancement of CTL cytotoxicity.
Methods: The HUBMCs were separated from human umbilical cord blood(HUCB). The generation of DCs were induced for 12 days in medium containing SCF, IL-4 and GM-CSF. Tumor antigen extracted by repeated freeze-thawing were added to culture medium and cultured successively for 2 days. The DCs were collected and exosomes were separated from culture supernatant through centrifugation at 100,000 g. The exosomes-associated properties were analyzed by FCM, SDS-PAGE, transmission electron microscope(TEM) and MTT colorimetry.
Results: After being induced for 12 days with SCF, IL-4 and GM-CSF the number of DCs had a 10-fold increase and displayed typically morphological characteristics of DCs. FCM analysis showed that the DCs loaded with tumor antigen expressed highly MHC-I, MHC-II, CD40, CD80, CD86, CD11c and CD54. Exosomes could be separated from culture supernatant of DCs by ultracentrifugation. Mixed lymphocyte reation(MLR) and cytotoxicity assay showed that exosomes secreted by DCs could effectively stimulate T cell proliferation and enhance their cytotoxicity.
Conclusion: A large number of DCs are obtained from UBMCs and the exosomes are secreted from them in vitro. The exosomes can present tumor antigen to T cells and enhance the cytotoxicity of CTLs.