Involvement of peritoneal dendritic cells in the induction of autoimmune prostatitis.

CORREA S; RIERA CM; PABLO IRIBARREN

J Autoimmun

Elsevier

Año: 1997 vol. 10 p. 107 - 113

We have been working within a model of autoimmune prostatitis induced bythe intraperitoneal administration of saline extract of rat male accessoryglands (RAG) associated to liposomes. The intraperitoneal administration ofRAG-liposomes elicits both primary and secondary cellular autoimmuneresponses to RAG as well as organ-specific lesions. To evaluate the participationof dendritic cells (DC) in the induction of the autoimmune response, wepurified peritoneal DC (PDC) after a single injection of RAG-liposomes andwe characterized this population by morphology and phenotype. Based onadherence and morphologic criteria, we determined that PDC comprisedapproximately 1% of the total peritoneal cells. The ultrastructure of thedendritic cell enriched fraction was assessed by electron microscopy. By FACSanalysis, PDC showed a two to three-fold increase in expression of the IAmolecule compared to macrophages. They expressed low but positive levels ofthe CD14 marker, and intermediate levels of both CD11b (Mac-1) and CD54(ICAM-1) adhesion molecules. In addition, PDC transferred either intravenouslyor intraperitoneally efficiently elicited the autoimmune response toRAG in normal receptors. These results support the involvement of peritonealdendritic cells in the induction of autoimmune prostatitis, modifying the ideaof macrophages as the single antigen presenting cell in the peritoneal cavity.