Murine Peyer's patch dendritic cells prime naïve CD4(+) T cells to produce interferon-gamma.

We investigated the role of Peyer's patch (PP) dendritic cells (DCs) in the production of interferon (IFN)-gamma from naïve CD4(+) T cells of T cell receptor transgenic mice. PP DCs were found to prime naïve CD4(+) T cells for the production of higher levels of IFN-gamma, when compared to spleen (SP) DCs. However, a similar level of interleukin-12 (IL-12) production was observed for PP and SP DCs stimulated via the CD40 molecule. In addition, PP DCs expressed slightly higher levels of B7.2 (CD86) compared to SP DCs. This data demonstrates that PP DCs have a distinct function in the induction of IFN-gammas and suggests that PP DCs may enhance IFN-gamma production via another cytokine or costimulatory molecule, in addition to IL-12.