Rat Dendritic Cells

Rat dendritic cells are antigen-presenting cells (APCs) obtained from rats and used to study dendritic cell function. APCs are critical for the activation and regulation of adaptive immune responses. Dendritic cells (DCs) are professional antigen-presenting cells, capable of capturing antigens, processing them, and presenting antigen peptide/MHC complexes to naïve T lymphocytes. Dendritic cells link the innate and adaptive immune systems. Dendritic cells are collected from several tissues such as bone marrow, spleen, lymph nodes and peripheral blood in rats. Rat dendritic cells possess several immunologic properties that are analogous to dendritic cells found in other mammals.

They express cell surface molecules required for antigen presentation and T-cell activation, including major histocompatibility complex class II (MHC II), CD80, CD86 and CD11c. Immature dendritic cells will mature upon encountering pathogens/inflammatory signals. Dendritic cell maturation is defined by upregulation of co-stimulatory molecules, increased antigen-presenting capabilities, and migration to lymphoid organs to initiate T-cell activation. Depending on maturation signals, dendritic cells can promote strong immune responses or induce tolerance.

Typically rat dendritic cells are produced in vitro by culturing bone marrow-derived precursor cells with cytokines such as granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and interleukin-4 (IL-4). They serve as an experimental tool that can be used to study antigen presentation, regulation of immunity, and mechanisms of dendritic cell maturation. Dendritic cells isolated from rats are used broadly in immunology, vaccine research, transplantation, autoimmune disease research, infection, and tumor immunity. Since rats are commonly used in pre-clinical models of disease, rat dendritic cells allow for examination of immune responses and testing of immunomodulatory therapeutics.