Seasonal modulation of the C-type lectin MGL on human DCs

Ilaria Grazia Zizzari, Chiara Napoletano, Aurelia Rughetti, Hassan Rahimi, Marianna Nuti

Department of Experimental Medicine, “Sapienza” University of Rome, Rome, Italy;.

DOI: 10.4236/oji.2013.34027                

Abstract

The C-type lectin MGL is a pathogen recognition receptor, expressed by dendritic cells (DCs) and macrophages (Mfs), able to bind GalNAc (Tn) carrying structures. This receptor also recognized Tn-TAAs that were internalized, processed and presented by DCs to T cells and it acted as an adjuvant on DCs, highlighting its possible application in anti-cancer vaccination. In this work, we found that this receptor present a seasonal modulation: its expression is higher in winter rather than in summer. The percentage of MGL⁺ donors displayed a negative trend that dropped to 33% during the summer and increased up to 100% in winter. This modulation could be also ascribed to the circa-annual variation of glucocorticoids, in fact MGL is up-regulated in presence of dexamethasone in vitro. The seasonal variation of this receptor could be an important point in the field of tumor vaccination strategies.

Keywords

MGL; Dendritic Cells; C-Type Lectin

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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