MHC class II presentation of endogenously expressed antigens by transfected dendritic cells

Dendritic cells (DC) present immunogenic epitopes of antigens in the context of MHC class I and class II molecules in association with costimulatory molecules, and efficiently activate both cytotoxic T cells and T helper cells. Gene modified DC expressing antigen encoding cDNA represent a particularly attractive approach for the immunotherapy of disease. We previously described a gene delivery system for DC based on receptor-mediated endocytosis of ligand/polyethylenimine (PEI) DNA transfer complexes that target cell surface receptors which are abundantly expressed on DC. Employing this gene delivery system, DC were generated that express chicken ovalbumin (OVA) cDNA as a model antigen and introduce antigen into the MHC class I presentation pathway. We demonstrate here that modification of OVA cDNA as transferrin receptor (TfR) or invariant chain (Ii) fusions effectively generate MHC class II specific immune responses in addition to MHC class I responses. TfR-OVA contains the membrane anchoring region of transferrin receptor and represents a membrane-bound form of OVA for access to the MHC class II compartment. Ii-OVA fusions directly target the MHC class II processing pathway. Thus, modification of antigen encoding cDNA represents a convenient and effective means to direct antigens to MHC class II presentation and thus to generate T cell help.