Investigation of induced changes in interleukin 1beta mRNA expression by cultured human dendritic cells as an in vitro approach to skin sensitization testing.

It has been reported previously that in vitro treatment of human blood derived dendritic cells (DC) with contact allergens provokes the elevated expression of mRNA for interleukin (IL) 1beta, under conditions where similar treatment of cells with the non-sensitizing skin irritant sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) did not alter IL-1beta mRNA levels (Reutter et al., 1997). The purpose of the present investigation was to evaluate further this phenomenon and to explore the potential utility of this approach for the purpose of skin sensitization testing. Human peripheral blood progenitor cells prepared from healthy adult volunteers were cultured in the presence of IL-4 and granulocyte/macrophage colony stimulating factor. After 5 days of culture, the majority of cells had a Langerhans cell-like phenotype, with characteristic dendritic morphology and cell surface expression of CD83, major histocompatibility complex class II and CD1a determinants. These blood-derived DC were cultured in the presence of the contact allergen 2,4-dinitrofluorobenzene (DNFB), SLS or vehicle alone and mRNA expression for IL-1beta, IL-6 and IL-18 was analysed by semiquantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. Constitutive expression of all three cytokines was observed for DC isolated from all donors examined. Exposure to DNFB resulted in upregulation of IL-1beta mRNA (two- to threefold) in cells derived from three out of eight donors whereas IL-6 and IL-18 were largely unaffected by allergen exposure. In contrast, SLS treatment did not induce IL-1beta mRNA expression in any of the donors investigated. Analysis of cytokine mRNA expression using the protocol described by Reutter et al. (1997), did not increase the sensitivity of measurement of induced cytokine expression. Although selected upregulation of IL-1beta by blood derived DC has been confirmed, a wider range of contact allergens and irritants need to be assessed before this approach could be considered for hazard identification.