Effect of liposome-encapsulated hemoglobin on antigen-presenting cells in mice

Liposome-encapsulated hemoglobin (LEH) is removed from the circulation and degraded in the reticuloendothelial system, including dendritic cells (DCs) and macrophages. Therefore, LEH at a large dose may overload the system, cause a competitive inhibition in antigen-presenting activity, and impair the immune response of the host. Changes in cellularity of immunocompetent cells were monitored serially up to 4 weeks by flow cytometry in wild-type mice receiving 20 mL/kg of LEH, syngeneic red blood cells (RBCs), or saline. DCs were collected from the host spleen 1, 7, and 28 days after receiving the solution and were cocultured with naïve cluster of differentiation 4 T cells from T-cell receptor transgenic mice in the absence or presence of third-party antigens. After LEH administration, the cellularity of DCs and macrophages in the recipient spleen remained unchanged from control mice receiving RBCs or saline. While subset populations and costimulatory molecule expressions were different, DCs from LEH-administered mice expressed high levels of interleukin-2 production and helper T-cell activation in response to a third-party antigen and superantigens, as did the DCs from control mice receiving RBCs or saline. The results suggest that 20 mL/kg of LEH does not greatly alter antigen-presenting activity to third-party antigens.