Lipoxin A_4 negatively regulates lipopolysaccharide-induced differentiation of RAW264.7 murine macrophages into dendritic-like cells

Background Lipoxins （LXs）, endogenous anti-inflammatory and pro-resolving eicosanoids generated during various inflammatory conditions, have novel immunomodulatory properties. Because dendritic cells （DCs） play crucial roles in the initiation and maintenance of immune response, we determined whether LXs could modulate the maturation process of DCs and investigated the effects of lipoxin A4 （LXA4） on lipopolysaccharide （LPS）-induced differentiation of RAW264.7 cells into dendritic-like cells. Methods RAW264.7 cells were cultured in vitro with 1 pg/ml LPS in the absence or presence of LXA4 for 24 hours, and cellular surface markers （MHC-II, CD80 （B7-1）, CD86（B7-2）） were measured by flow cytometry （FCM）. Mixed lymphocyte reaction was performed to evaluate the allostimulatory activity. Cytoplastic IKB degradation and nuclear factor kappa B （NF-KB） translocation were detected by Western blotting. Luciferase reporter plasmid was transiently transfected into RAW264.7 cells, and luciferase activity was determined to measure the transcriptional activity of NF-KB. Results LXA4 reduced the ratio of LPS-treated RAW264.7 cells to DCs with morphological characteristics and inhibited the expression of MHC I1. LPS-induced up-regulation of CD86 was moderately suppressed by LXA4 but no obvious change of CD80 was observed. Moreover, LXA4 weakened the aUostimulatory activity of LPS-treated RAW264.7 cells. These alterations of LPS＋LXA4-treated cells were associated with a marked inhibition of IKB degradation, NF-KB translocation and then the transcriptional activity of NF-KB. Conclusions LXA4 negatively regulates LPS-induced differentiation of RAW264.7 cells into dendritic-like cells.This activity reveals an undescribed mechanism of LXA4 to prevent excessive and sustained immune reaction by regulating maturation of DCs.

An experimental study on astrocytes promoting production of neural stem cells derived from mouse embryonic stem cells

Background The production of neural stem cells （NSCs） derived from embryonic stem （ES） cells was usually very low according to previous studies, which was a major obstacle for meeting the needs of clinical application. This study aimed at investigating whether astrocytes could promote production of NSCs derived from ES cells in vitro.Methods Mouse ES cells line-D3 was used to differentiate into NSCs with astrocytes as inducing stromal cells by means of three-stage differentiation procedure. Another group without astrocytes served as control. The totipotency of ES cells was identified by observation of cells＇ morphology and formation of teratoma in severe combined immunodeficiency disease （SCID） mice. The quantity and purity of NSCs derived from ES cells were analyzed using clonogenic assay, immunohistochemical staining and flow cytometry assay. The plasticity of NSCs was detected by differentiating test. Octamer-binding transcription factor 4 （Oct-4） and nestin, the specific marker genes of ES cells and NSCs respectively, were detected continuously using reverse transcription- polymerase chain reaction （RT-PCR） method to monitor the process of cell differentiation.Results The ES cells of D3 line could maintain the ability of differentiating into cellular derivations of all three primary germ layers after continuous passage culture. At the end of two-stage of inducing process, 23.2±3.5 neurospheres per plate formed in astrocyte-induced group and only 0. 8±0.3 per plate in the control group （ elonogenic assay, P 〈 0.01 ）, and the ratio of nestin positive cells was （50. 2±2. 8） % in astrocyte-induced group and only （ 1.4±0. 5） % in the control group （flow cytometry, P 〈0. 01 ）. With the induction undergoing, the expression of Oct-4 gradually decreased and then disappeared, while the expression of nestin was increased step by step, and the ratio of nestin positive cells was up to 91.4% by the three-stage differentiation. The nestin positive cells could be further induced into neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes in differentiating medium supplemented with fetal calf serum. The results of differentiating test showed that the ratio of NF-200 and NSE positive cells was （42. 7±2. 6） % in astroeyte-indueed group and only （ 11.2 ±1.8 ） % in the control group （P〈0.01）.Conclusions Astrocytes can not only increase the production of NSCs derived from ES cells but also promote the differentiation of NSCs toward neuronal lineage.