Elucidation of novel DC subset defined by expression of BLT1

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25860223
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: General medical chemistry
• Research Institution: Juntendo University
• Principal Investigator: KOGA TOMOAKI 順天堂大学, 医学(系)研究科(研究院), 助教 (30615092)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: GPCR / LTB4 / BLT1 / 樹状細胞 / T細胞

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Leukotriene B4 (LTB4) is a classical pro-inflammatory lipid mediator for neutrophils. BLT1 is a high-affinity receptor for LTB4 and expressed in inflammatory cells including neutrophils and macrophages. Recently, LTB4-BLT1 axis has been known to be important not only for inflammatory response, but also for immune response. Dendritic cells (DCs) are highly specialized antigen-presenting cells that regulate immune responses by presenting antigen to naive T cells and releasing cytokines. Although there are accumulating evidences on the roles of BLT1 in immune responses, its role in DCs is still elusive. Here we reported that there are two distinct DC subsets defined by different expression levels of BLT1, BLT1hi and BLT1lo DCs. Those DC subsets have different Th1-polarizing and naive T cell-proliferating abilities.These findings provide novel insights into the regulatory mechanisms of how immune response is controlled by lipid mediator and its receptor.

Free Research Field

脂質免疫学