Prevalence of the fusion gene and T cell stimulation capacity of dendritic cells in chronic myelogenous leukemia.

Dendritic cell (DC) vaccines are promising for immunotherapy, and their production using CD34 hematopoietic stem cells (HPSCs) from patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) and healthy donors is well established. However, the generation of CD1aCD14 DCs and their functional properties in patients with CML remain elusive. Here, we aimed to study the biology of DCs generated from CD34 HPSCs and evaluate the status of their BCR/ABL translocation, ability to stimulate T cells, and capacity of endocytosis compared to DCs derived from CD34 HPSCs from both patients with CML and healthy donors. CD1aCD14 DCs were generated from CD34 HPSCs and evaluated morphologically and functionally. CD34 cells are frequently selected for transplantation and the entire CD34 HPSC fraction is wasted. Here, we anticipated the CD34 HPSC subset to constitute an invaluable source for acquiring DCs for immunotherapy. CD34 and CD34 HPSCs were sorted from the bone marrow samples of CML patients and healthy donors and differentiated in a similar way. DCs from CD34Lin and CD34Lin HPSCs expressed comparable surface markers (CD80, CD83, CD86, HLA-DR, CD40, and CD54). Functional analysis revealed that DCs acquired from both subsets retained a potent allogeneic T cell stimulatory capacity and an efficient phagocytic ability and showed a similar translocation status. In conclusion, DCs were successfully differentiated from the CD34Lin cell subset and showed potent functional capacities, indicating their potential for application in immunotherapy and basic research.