Primary monocytes survive and differentiate when cultured with AEC in vitro.

<p>Primary monocytes and AEC were enriched from naïve donor mice and co-cultured for three, six or ten days. (A) The histograms show the phenotype of the enriched monocytes used in the co-culture experiments. (B) The cells were harvested at the indicated timepoints and stained for cell surface markers. Cultured myeloid cells were identified based on CD45.2 cell surface expression (data not shown) and analyzed for CD11b and CD11c expression (upper panels). The lower panels display MHC class II and Ly6C cell surface expression (open histograms) on gated CD11b⁺CD11c⁺ and CD11b⁺CD11c^- monocyte-derived cells. Filled histograms show isotype control stainings. One representative experiment out of three separate experiments is shown.