An 11-color flow cytometric assay for identifying, phenotyping, and assessing endocytic ability of peripheral blood dendritic cell subsets in a single platform.

Human peripheral blood dendritic cells (PBDC) are a rare population comprised of several distinctive subsets. Analysis of these cells has been hindered by their low frequency. In this study, we report a novel direct ex vivo 11-color flow cytometric assay that combines subset identification with analysis of activation status and endocytic ability of three major PBDC subsets (CD1c(+)CD11c(+) "MDC1," CD141(+)CD11c(+) "MDC2," and CD303(+)CD11c(-) "PDC") within a single platform. This method eliminates the need for DC enrichment, isolation, or prolonged culture. Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from healthy donors are incubated with FITC-dextran directly ex vivo, prior to cell surface staining with various markers. As expected, PBDC identified by this assay express low levels of CD40 and CD86 directly ex vivo, and significantly upregulate expression of these molecules upon stimulation with toll-like receptor ligands LPS and CpG oligonucleotides. In addition, PDC internalize FITC-labeled dextran poorly in comparison to MDC1 and MDC2 subsets. Specificity of FITC-dextran endocytosis is further verified by imaging flow cytometry. Furthermore, the combination of surface markers used in this assay reveals a previously unreported CD4(+)CD11c(+)CD303(-)CD1c(-)CD141(-) cell population. Taken together, this assay is a rapid and cost-effective method that avoids manipulation of PBDC while providing direct ex vivo high-dimensional flow cytometry data for PBDC studies.