Human BDCA-1-positive blood dendritic cells differentiate into phenotypically distinct immature and mature populations in the absence of exogenous maturational stimuli: differentiation failure in HIV infection.

Current immunological opinion holds that myeloid dendritic cell (mDC) precursors migrate from the blood to the tissues, where they differentiate into immature dermal- and Langerhans-type dendritic cells (DC). Tissue DC require appropriate signals from pathogens or inflammatory cytokines to mature and migrate to secondary lymphoid tissue. We show that purified blood mDC cultured in vitro with GM-CSF and IL-4, but in the absence of added exogenous maturation stimuli, rapidly differentiate into two maturational and phenotypically distinct populations. The major population resembles immature dermal DC, being positive for CD11b, CD1a, and DC-specific ICAM-3-grabbing nonintegrin. They express moderate levels of MHC class II and low levels of costimulatory molecules. The second population is CD11b(-/low) and lacks CD1a and DC-specific ICAM-3-grabbing nonintegrin but expresses high levels of MHC class II and costimulatory molecules. Expression of CCR7 on the CD11b(-/low) population and absence on the CD11b(+) cells further supports the view that these cells are mature and immature, respectively. Differentiation into mature and immature populations was not blocked by polymyxin B, an inhibitor of LPS. Neither population labeled for Langerin, E-cadherin, or CCR6 molecules expressed by Langerhans cells. Stimulation of 48-h cultured DC with LPS, CD40L, or poly(I:C) caused little increase in MHC or costimulatory molecule expression in the CD11b(-/low) DC but caused up-regulated expression in the CD11b(+) cells. In HIV-infected individuals, there was a marked decrease in the viability of cultured blood mDC, a failure to differentiate into the two populations described for normal donors, and an impaired ability to stimulate T cell proliferation.