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Blood, 1 March 2008, Vol. 111, No. 5, pp. 2733-2743. Prepublished online as a Blood First Edition Paper on December 21, 2007; DOI 10.1182/blood-2007-03-080994.
IMMUNOBIOLOGY Activin-A: a novel dendritic cell–derived cytokine that potently attenuates CD40 ligand–specific cytokine and chemokine production1 Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Austin Health, Heidelberg; 2 Monash Institute of Medical Research, Monash University, Clayton; and 3 CSL Limited, Parkville, Australia
Activin-A is a transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) superfamily member that plays a pivotal role in many developmental and reproductive processes. It is also involved in neuroprotection, apoptosis of tumor and some immune cells, wound healing, and cancer. Its role as an immune-regulating protein has not previously been described. Here we demonstrate for the first time that activin-A has potent autocrine effects on the capacity of human dendritic cells (DCs) to stimulate immune responses. Human monocyte-derived DCs (MoDCs) and the CD1c+ and CD123+ peripheral blood DC populations express both activin-A and the type I and II activin receptors. Furthermore, MoDCs and CD1c+ myeloid DCs rapidly secrete high levels of activin-A after exposure to bacteria, specific toll-like receptor (TLR) ligands, or CD40 ligand (CD40L). Blocking autocrine activin-A signaling in DCs using its antagonist, follistatin, enhanced DC cytokine (IL-6, IL-10, IL-12p70, and tumor necrosis factor-
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