Survival adjustment of mature dendritic cells by IL-15.

Dubois, Sigrid P; Waldmann, Thomas A; Müller, Jürgen R · Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A · 2005

basic_science · Level V

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Abstract

The survival of CD8+/CD44(hi) memory phenotype T cells depends on an IL-15 activity on nonlymphoid cells. Here, we report that IL-15 and its receptor were induced on dendritic cells (DCs) by a combination of IFN-gamma and NF-kappaB relA inducers. IL-15 conferred in an autocrine loop resistance to apoptosis that accompanied the maturation process in DCs in vitro. As an apparent result in vivo, mice deficient in IL-15 or its receptor harbor few DCs. Injecting DCs into IL-15-/- mice was associated with the appearance of CD8+/CD44(hi) T cells that depended on IL-15 expression but also correlated with the longevity of the DCs. These findings support the hypothesis that DCs mediate the effect of IL-15 on CD8+/CD44(hi) memory phenotype T cells.

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