Antigen presentation by human dermal microvascular endothelial cells. Immunoregulatory effect of IFN-gamma and IL-10

Human dermal microvascular endothelial cells (HDMEC) play a central role in many aspects of the inflammatory and immune reactions in skin. HDMEC display a phenotypic diversity ranging from cells with an epithelioid morphology to those that show both morphologic and biochemical characteristics of macrophages. Here it is shown that HDMEC possess the capability to both process and present Ags. T lymphocyte clones specific for peptide p94-104, which are derived from the protein of group I allergen of Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, a major house dust mite allergen, and restricted by HLADR11, proliferated specifically to stimulation with the group I allergen of D. pteronyssinus and with peptide p94-104 presented by HDMEC. Preincubation for 48 h with IFN-gamma enhanced the expression of class II MHC Ags on HDMEC, which in turn increased the capacity of HDMEC to present Ag. When HDMEC were primed with Ag in the presence of IL-10, a 75% inhibition of Ag-specific T cell proliferation was observed. IL-10 also inhibited T cell proliferation induced by IFN-gamma-stimulated HDMEC. These findings demonstrate that HDMEC possess the ability to process and present Ag to CD4+ T cells and that these reactions are stimulated by IFN-gamma and inhibited by IL-10. The reduced Ag-presenting capacity of HDMEC mediated by IL-10 is not associated with a down-regulation of class II MHC expression. No significant reduction of HLA-DR expression was detected either at the protein or gene level when HDMEC were incubated with IFN-gamma and IL-10 as compared with incubation with IFN-gamma alone. The profound down-regulatory effect of IL-10 on Ag presentation may provide a new pharmacologic approach to control inflammatory responses in skin.