TITLE:
Seasonal modulation of the C-type lectin MGL on human DCs
AUTHORS:
Ilaria Grazia Zizzari, Chiara Napoletano, Aurelia Rughetti, Hassan Rahimi, Marianna Nuti
KEYWORDS:
MGL; Dendritic Cells; C-Type Lectin
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Immunology,
Vol.3 No.4,
December
12,
2013
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.