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Silencing CX3CR1 production modulates the interaction between dendritic and endothelial cells

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Abstract

CX3CR1, an important chemokine receptor in dendritic cells (DCs), is linked to the progression of atherosclerotic plaques. However, the mechanism(s) determining the role of CX3CR1 in atherosclerosis have not been clearly elucidated. In this study, we developed DCs from monocytes of Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats in the presence of recombinant human granulocyte–macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and recombinant human interleukin-4 (IL-4). The presence of recombinant human TNF-α and LPS forced the cells to mature. When compared to immature DCs, flow cytometry (FACS) analysis revealed that mature DCs display a sustained increase in the levels of CD11c, CD86, and CD80 expression. The expression of Fractalkine (FKN) in endothelial cells (ECs) contributes to the maturation of DCs and expression of CX3CR1. We revealed that mRNA expression levels of CX3CR1 in mature DCs are significantly higher than those of immature DCs (P < 0.001). Transfection of DCs with siRNA specific for the CX3CR1 gene resulted in potent suppression of gene expression and inhibition of interactions between DCs and ECs. Based on these data, we hypothesized that CX3CR1 contributes to the DC–EC interaction. CX3CR1 may serve as a new target molecule for increasing therapeutic interactions in atherosclerosis.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Yanjun Bai for technical assistance. We express our thanks to Prof. Gaolin Liu for the critical reading of this manuscript.

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  1. Department of Pharmacy, Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, 1630 Dongfang Road, Shanghai, 200127, China

    Xiaoyan Liu, Guohong Lu & Jinfang Shen

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  1. Xiaoyan Liu
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  3. Jinfang Shen
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Correspondence to Jinfang Shen.

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Liu, X., Lu, G. & Shen, J. Silencing CX3CR1 production modulates the interaction between dendritic and endothelial cells. Mol Biol Rep 38, 481–488 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-010-0131-1

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