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Updated: May 24, 2026
Induction of Drug-Induced, Autoimmune Hepatitis in BALB/c Mice for the Study of Its Pathogenic Mechanisms
Published on: May 29, 2020
Vaccination with dendritic cells pulsed with hepatitis C pseudo particles induces specific immune responses in mice
Kilian Weigand1, Franziska Voigt, Jens Encke
1Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University Hospital Heidelberg, D-69120 Heidelberg, Germany. kilian_weigand@med.uni-heidelberg.de
Aim:
To explore dendritic cells (DCs) multiple functions in immune modulation.
Methods:
We used bone-marrow derived dendritic cells from BALB/c mice pulsed with pseudo particles from the hepatitis C virus to vaccinate naive BALB/c mice. Hepatitis C virus (HCV) pseudo particles consist of the genotype 1b derived envelope proteins E1 and E2, covering a non-HCV core structure. Thus, not a single epitope, but the whole "viral surface" induces immunogenicity. For vaccination, mature and activated DC were injected subcutaneously twice.
Results:
Humoral and cellular immune responses measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and interferon-gamma enzyme-linked immunosorbent spot test showed antibody production as well as T-cells directed against HCV. Furthermore, T-cell responses confirmed two highly immunogenic regions in E1 and E2 outside the hypervariable region 1.
Conclusion:
Our results indicate dendritic cells as a promising vaccination model for HCV infection that should be evaluated further.
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