Different kinds of antigen-presenting cells exert different effects on T-helper cells development.

It has been well documented that environmental factors such as antigen-presenting cells and related cytokines can affect the development of T-helper cells. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of different antigen-presenting cells on T-cell development. Ovalbumin (OVA) combined with complete Freud's adjuvant (CFA) was used to sensitize mice subcutaneously or intraperitoneally, and then to follow-up production of IgG and IgE anti-OVA antibodies. In addition, semiquantitative PCR was used to determine the level of cytokine mRNA of different antigen-presenting cells. Resulting data showed that antigen-presenting cells expressed with different characteristics: (1) IgG2a anti-OVA antibody was higher in mice sensitized subcutaneously compared to those sensitized intraperitoneally. (2) The levels of cytokine mRNA were higher in antigen-stimulated spleen cells of mice immunized subcutaneously compared to those of mice immunized intraperitoneally. (3) Langerhans cells expressed a high level of IL-12; in contrast, peritoneal B cells expressed a high level of IL-10, but not IL-12. In summary, cytokine levels such as IL-10 and IL-12 were different among different kinds of APC, and their role in production of different isotypes of antibodies needs further elucidation.