Interaction of XCR1- and XCR1+ cDC1 with NK cells

As XCR1+ cDC1 excelled in the secretion of inflammatory cytokines, we were interested whether XCR1+ cDC1 are superior in the activation of NK cells. Therefore, XCR1- and XCR1+ cDC1 were co-cultured with autologous NK cells in presence or not of a TLR ligand cocktail consisting of pIC, R848 and CpG. In some experiments, secreted IL-12 was neutralized by an anti-IL-12p40 antibody. For details, see attached Excel sheet.
Conclusion:
XCR1+ cDC1 are superior in the activation of NK cells. This is partly explained by the higher secretion of IL-12.
Notes:
Published in: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), 2023 Title: XCR1 expression distinguishes human conventional dendritic cell type 1 with full effector function from their immediate precursors. Authors: Lukas Heger, Lukas Hatscher, Chunguang Liang, Christian H. K. Lehmann, Lukas Amon, Jennifer J. Lühr, Tomasz Kaszubowski, Rayk Nzirorera, Niels Schaft, Jan Dörrie, Pascal Irrgang, Matthias Tenbusch, Meik Kunz, Eileen Socher, Stella E. Autenrieth, Ariawan Purbojo, Horia Sirbu, Arndt Hartmann, Christoph Alexiou, Robert Cesnjevar, and Diana Dudziak doi: 10.1073/pnas.2300343120 As control, NK cells were cultured with or without the TLR ligand cocktail alone without addition of DCs. Further, isotype controls were used to calculate Delta-MFI values.