Macrophages stimulated with mollusk hemocyanins present a different expression pattern of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines (VAC3P.956)

Abstract

Hemocyanins inoculated in mammals induce a Th1-dominant response with beneficial clinical outcomes, being used as carrier/adjuvant in vaccines and as immunostimulant for the treatment of bladder cancer. However, its effects during the early phases of the immune response are unknown. We hypothesized that when hemocyanins are incorporated by antigen presenting cells, they induce an inflammatory milieu, producing a bystander effect, key event in its non-specific immunostimulatory effects. Here, in vitro cultures of murine peritoneal macrophages were incubated with different hemocyanins from M. crenulata (KLH) or C. concholepas (CCH) or F. latimarginata (FLH), to study the correlation between mRNA and protein levels from a panel of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines, using qPCR and ELISA. The results showed that hemocyanins were endocyted and slowly processed by macrophages, stimulating the expression of IL-6, IL-12p40 and TNF-α at different times and intensities. FLH and KLH but not CCH at 24 h, induced an increased in the expression of chemokines related to leukocyte extravasations, such as CCL-3, CXCL-1 and CXCL-5. Moreover, hemocyanins kept down-regulated key Th2 cytokines such as IL-4 and TGF-β2. We concluded that each hemocyanin can stimulate different kinetic patterns of proinflammatory cytokines and chemokines expression in macrophages, suggesting different signaling pathways, which can be explained in part, by its structural differences.