Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 21, 2026

Chemical Conjugation of a Purified DEC-205-Directed Antibody with Full-Length Protein for Targeting Mouse Dendritic Cells In Vitro and In Vivo
Published on: February 5, 2021
Application of specific cell permeable cathepsin G inhibitors resulted in reduced antigen processing in primary
Michael Reich1, Adam Lesner, Anna Legowska
1Catheomics, Division of Endocrinology and Diabetes, Department of Internal Medicine I, University Medical Center Ulm, Albert-Einstein-Allee 23, 89081 Ulm, Germany.
Abstract:
The serine protease cathepsin G (CatG) is expressed in primary antigen-presenting cells and regulates autoantigen processing in CatG pre-loaded fibroblasts. To further investigate the function of CatG in the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II loading compartments, a specific, cell permeable CatG-inhibitor is needed. In this study, several CatG-inhibitors were tested for their ability to penetrate the cell membrane of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). We find that the commercially available reversible CatG-specific inhibitor I (CatG inhibitor) and the irreversible Suc-Val-Pro-Phe(P) (OPh)(2) (Suc-VPF) are both cell permeable and specifically inhibit intracellular CatG in the PBMC. Furthermore, selective inhibition of CatG resulted in reduced tetanus toxin C-fragment (TTC) and hemagglutinin (HA) processing and presentation to CD4(+) T cells. We conclude that these CatG inhibitors can be used for both antigen-processing studies and for modulation of T cell response in situ and in vivo.
