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Updated: May 7, 2026

Assessing the Development of Murine Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells in Peyer's Patches Using Adoptive Transfer of Hematopoietic Progenitors
Published on: March 17, 2014
Corticosteroids depress IFN-alpha-producing plasmacytoid dendritic cells in human blood
1Section of HIV Medicine, Department of Medicine, Saint Vincents Hospital and Medical Center, New York 10011, USA.
Abstract:
Glucocorticoids are strongly immunosuppressive and are associated with reactivation of some intracellular infections. The plasmacytoid dendritic cell is a rare blood mononuclear cell detected through its production of IFN-alpha in response to herpes simplex virus and by surface immunophenotyping. We here report that steroid administration results in a decrease of IFN-alpha generation of approximately 25-fold, accompanied by reduction in circulating plasmacytoid dendritic cell numbers. Both parameters return to normal within days after steroid cessation.
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