Blood. 2011 Oct 13;118(15):4111-9. Epub 2011 Aug 22.
Targeting DC-SIGN via its neck region leads to prolonged antigen residence in early endosomes, delayed lysosomal degradation, and cross-presentation
Tacken PJ, Ginter W, Berod L, Cruz LJ, Joosten B, Sparwasser T, Figdor CG, Cambi A.
Department of Tumor Immunology, Nijmegen Centre for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Link to PubMed
Abstract
Targeting antigens to dendritic cell (DC)-specific receptors, such as DC-SIGN, induces potent T cell-mediated immune responses. DC-SIGN is a transmembrane C-type lectin receptor with a long extracellular neck region and a carbohydrate recognition domain (CRD). Thus far, only antibodies binding the CRD have been used to target antigens to DC-SIGN. We evaluated the endocytic pathway triggered by antineck antibodies as well as their intracellular routing and ability to induce CD8(+) T-cell activation. In contrast to anti-CRD antibodies, antineck antibodies induced a clathrin-independent mode of DC-SIGN internalization, as demonstrated by the lack of colocalization with clathrin and the observation that silencing clathrin did not affect antibody internalization in human DCs. Interestingly, we observed that anti-neck and anti-CRD antibodies were differentially routed within DCs. Whereas anti-CRD antibodies were mainly routed to late endosomal compartments, anti-neck antibodies remained associated with early endosomal compartments positive for EEA-1 and MHC class I for up to 2 hours after internalization. Finally, cross-presentation of protein antigen conjugated to antineck antibodies was approximately 1000-fold more effective than nonconjugated antigen. Our studies demonstrate that anti-neck antibodies trigger a distinct mode of DC-SIGN internalization that shows potential for targeted vaccination strategies.
PMID: 21860028
