Using Dendritic Cells as therapeutic or prophylactic vaccine against HCV

Dendritic cells (DCs) are a promising tool for therapeutic and / or prophylactic vaccination experiments, considering their multiple functions in immune modulation. We used bone-marrow derived dendritic cells from BALB/c mice loaded with pseudo particles from the hepatitis C virus (HCVpp) to vaccinate native BALB/c mice. HCVpp consists of the two (genotype 1b) envelope proteins E1 and E2, covering a non-HCV core structure. Thus, not a single epitope, but the whole “viral surface“ induces immunogenicity. HCV E1/E2 pseudo particles were successfully established, demonstrated by dot blot and Huh–7 transduction assay. Then, syngenic BALB/c DCs were ex vivo loaded with HCVpp, after a course of 8 day maturation with GMCS-F and IL–4. For vaccination mature and activated DCs were injected intra peritoneal. To increase immune responses, the BALB/c mice were boosted by the same procedure two weeks after the first immunisation event. Humoral and cellular immune responses were measured by ELISA, ELISPOT and CTL assay. Our results indicate dendritic cells as promising vaccination model to be tested further, for example by surrogate infection experiments.

Dendritic cells - Hepatitis C - Virushepatitis - immunology - vaccine