Human monocytes differentiate into dendritic cells (DCs) or macrophages according to the nature of environmental signals. Monocytes stimulated with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) plus interleukin 4 (IL-4) yield DCs. We tested here whether interferon-γ (IFN-γ), a potent activator of macrophages, may modulate monocyte differentiation. Addition of IFN-γ to IL-4 plus GM-CSF–stimulated monocytes switches their differentiation from DCs to CD14−CD64+ macrophages. IFN-γ increases macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) and IL-6 production by IL-4 plus GM-CSF–stimulated monocytes by acting at the transcriptional level and acts together with IL-4 to up-regulate M-CSF but not IL-6 production. IFN-γ also increases M-CSF receptor internalization. Results from neutralizing experiments show that both M-CSF and IL-6 are involved in the ability of IFN-γ to skew monocyte differentiation from DCs to macrophages. Finally, this effect of IFN-γ is limited to early stages of differentiation. When added to immature DCs, IFN-γ up-regulates IL-6 but not M-CSF production and does not convert them to macrophages, even in the presence of exogenous M-CSF. In conclusion, IFN-γ shifts monocyte differentiation to macrophages rather than DCs through autocrine M-CSF and IL-6 production. These data show that IFN-γ controls the differentiation of antigen-presenting cells and thereby reveals a new mechanism by which IFN-γ orchestrates the outcome of specific immune responses.

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) can enter eukaryotic cells and exert toxic effects, most probably as a consequence of the release of Ag ions. Due to the elusive nature of Ag ionic species, quantitative information concerning AgNP intracellular dissolution is missing. By using a synchrotron nanoprobe, silver is visualized and quantified in hepatocytes (HepG2) exposed to AgNPs; the synergistic use of electron microscopy allows for the discrimination between nanoparticular and ionic forms of silver within a single cell. AgNPs are located in endocytosis vesicles, while the visualized Ag ions diffuse in the cell. The averaged NP dissolution rates, measured by X-ray absorption spectroscopy, highlight the faster dissolution of citrate-coated AgNPs with respect to the less toxic PVP-coated AgNPs; these results are confirmed at the single-cell level. The released Ag ions recombine with thiol-bearing biomolecules: the Ag-S distances measured in cellulo, and the quantitative evaluation of gene expression, provide independent evidence of the involvement of glutathione and metallothioneins in Ag binding. The combined use of cutting-edge imaging techniques, atomic spectroscopy and molecular biology brings insight into the fate of AgNPs in hepatocytes, and more generally into the physicochemical transformations of metallic nanoparticles in biological environments and the resulting disruption of metal homeostasis.

Metal overload plays an important role in several diseases or intoxications, like in Wilson's disease, a major genetic disorder of copper metabolism in humans. To efficiently and selectively decrease copper concentration in the liver that is highly damaged, chelators should be targeted at the hepatocytes. In the present work, we synthesized a molecule able to both lower intracellular copper, namely Cu(I), and target hepatocytes, combining within the same structure a chelating unit and a carbohydrate recognition element. A cyclodecapeptide scaffold displaying a controlled conformation with two independent faces was chosen to introduce both units. One face displays a cluster of carbohydrates to ensure an efficient recognition of the asialoglycoprotein receptors, expressed on the surface of hepatocytes. The second face is devoted to metal ion complexation thanks to the thiolate functions of two cysteine side-chains. To obtain a chelator that is active only once inside the cells, the two thiol functions were oxidized in a disulfide bridge to afford the glycopeptide P(3). Two simple cyclodecapeptides modeling the reduced and complexing form of P(3) in cells proved a high affinity for Cu(I) and a high selectivity with respect to Zn(II). As expected, P(3) becomes an efficient Cu(I) chelator in the presence of glutathione that mimics the intracellular reducing environment. Finally, cellular uptake and ability to lower intracellular copper were demonstrated in hepatic cell lines, in particular in WIF-B9, making P(3) a good candidate to fight copper overload in the liver.