Effects of glioma cells on maturation of dendritic cells.

We investigated whether glioma cells affected the maturation of dendritic cells (DCs). First, DCs phenotypes were analyzed using FACScan. Incubation of both human and mouse immature DCs with glioma cells altered their expression of cell surface molecules, whereas expression of cell surface molecules by mature mouse and human DCs was not affected by exposure to glioma cells. Subsequently, phagositosis was assessed by uptake of FITC-dextran. Coculture with glioma cells did not inhibit phagositosis of either mature or immature DCs relative to the controls. We also analyzed the concentration of IL-12 secreted by mature DCs using enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay (ELISA). IL- 12 production by DCs was inhibited by coculture with glioma cells. However, stimulation with lipopolysaccharide restored the production of IL- 12 by both human and mouse DCs. These data suggest that glioma cells suppress the maturation of DCs.