Sulfatide and β-GalCer modify the phenotype of immature DCs.

<p>(A) The phenotype analysis of immature dendritic cells (top row) and after maturation with LPS (center row) or LPS+IFNγ (bottom row). Dendritic cells were differentiated from monocytes with GM-CSF and IL-4 alone (empty histograms) or in the presence of sulfatide (dark grey histograms) or β-GalCer (light grey histograms). After 6 days (immature DCs) or 8 days (mature DCs - LPS or LPS+IFNγ), cells were harvested and stained with fluorescent antibodies. Histograms are representative of three independent experiments. Stimulated production of IL-12p70 (B) and TNF (C) were measured in the supernatant collected at the end of each culture condition as detailed under A. The cytokine concentration was determined by ELISA. Graphs show relative cytokine expression normalized to the corresponding cytokine levels measured in unstimulated cultures from two experiments (n = 2).