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Updated: Jul 16, 2026
Expanding Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes from Umbilical Cord Blood that Target Cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr Virus, and Adenovirus
Published on: May 7, 2012
[A study on the anti-HBV effect of dendritic cell from human umbilical cord blood]
Da-chuan Cai1, Jing Li, Yan Zeng
1Department of Infectious Diseases, Second Affiliated Hospital, Chongqing University of Medical Sciences, Chongqing 400010, China.
Insights
Dendritic cells (DC) derived from human umbilical cord blood can activate Hepatitis B virus (HBV)-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL). This approach shows potential for breaking immune tolerance in chronic HBV infection.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Cell Biology
Context:
- Dendritic cells (DC) possess potent antigen-presenting capabilities.
- Chronic Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is characterized by immune tolerance.
- Activating HBV-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) is crucial for viral clearance.
Purpose:
- To induce and proliferate DC from human umbilical cord blood.
- To investigate the anti-HBV effect of CTLs activated by HBsAg-pulsed DC.
- To explore a novel method for activating HBsAg-specific CTL.
Summary:
- Mononuclear cells from human cord blood were cultured with a cytokine cocktail to induce DC.
- These DC were pulsed with Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg).
- The HBsAg-pulsed DC successfully activated HBsAg-specific CTL, which demonstrated cytotoxic activity against target cells in vitro.
Impact:
- This study demonstrates the successful induction of functional DC from cord blood.
- The findings suggest a potential new strategy for immunotherapy in chronic HBV patients by breaking immune tolerance.
- This method may enhance the activation of HBsAg-specific CTL for therapeutic purposes.
Objective:
Regarding the strong antigen-presenting abilities of dendritic cells (DC), this study was carried out based on the induction and proliferation of DC derived from human umbilical cord blood; the anti-HBV effect of cytotoxicity T lymphocytes (CTL) activated by those DC pulsed with HBsAg was also carried out to explore a new way to activate the HBsAg-specific CTL.
Methods:
Cord blood was collected from the cord veins of normal placentae after Cesarean sections, from which cord blood mononuclear cells (CBMC) were separated through density gradient centrifugation. The CBMC were cultured in RPMI 1640 with a cytokine cocktail. Pulsed with HBsAg, the DC were prepared to activate the HBsAg-specific CTL among the CBMC. The cytotoxic effect of CBMCs activated by the DC primed with HBsAg was assayed through the killing of those HepG2-S target cells.
Results:
Typical DC could be induced from CMBC cultured with a cytokine cocktail. DC pulsed by HBsAg activated HBsAg-specific CTL, which killed the target HepG2-S cells to some extent.
Conclusion:
DC can be induced from CMBC with the cytokine cocktail and they show a strong antigen-presenting ability. DC produced in this way and pulsed by HBsAg can activate HBsAg-specific CTL in vitro. This might mean that it could be a new way to break the tolerance to HBV in chronic HBV-infected patients.
