Peripheral Blood CD14high CD16⁺ Monocytes are Main Producers of IL-10

• Published in: Scandinavian journal of immunology 2008-02, Vol.67 (2), p.152-159
• Main Authors: Skrzeczyńska-Moncznik, J, Bzowska, M, Lo[double acute accent]seke, S, Grage-Griebenow, E, Zembala, M, Pryjma, J
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Antigens, CD - blood; Antigens, CD - immunology; Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; Flow Cytometry; GPI-Linked Proteins; Humans; Interleukin-10 - biosynthesis; Interleukin-10 - blood; Interleukin-10 - genetics; Interleukin-10 - immunology; Lipopolysaccharide Receptors - blood; Lipopolysaccharide Receptors - immunology; Monocytes - immunology; Phagocytosis - immunology; Phenotype; Receptors, IgG - blood; Receptors, IgG - immunology; Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; RNA - chemistry; RNA - genetics; Toll-Like Receptors - immunology; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha - biosynthesis; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha - genetics; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha - immunology
• ISSN: 0300-9475; 1365-3083
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-3083.2007.02051.x

Based on CD14 and CD16 expression, human peripheral blood monocytes (MO) can be divided into a major CD14high CD16⁻ population and two minor CD14high CD16⁺ and CD14dim CD16⁺ subpopulations. CD14dim CD16⁺ MO are well characterized and regarded as pro-inflammatory because upon stimulation produce TNF-α but little, if any, IL-10. By contrast, little is known about CD14high CD16⁺ MO. We investigated the surface expression of selected determinants by CD16⁺ MO subpopulations, cytokine production, phagocytosis and antigen presentation. We found that both CD16⁺ subpopulations had a higher expression of HLA-DR, CD86, CD54 and a lower expression of CD64 than CD14high CD16⁻ population. In addition, CD14high CD16⁺ MO showed a higher expression of CD11b and TLR4 than CD14dim CD16⁺ and CD14high CD16⁻ subpopulations. CD14high CD16⁺ MO exhibited an increased phagocytic activity and a decreased antigen presentation in comparison with CD14dim CD16⁺. As expected, lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated CD14dim CD16⁺ MO produced TNF-α but little IL-10. By contrast, LPS-stimulated CD14high CD16⁺ subpopulation produced significantly more IL-10 than CD14dim CD16⁺ and CD14high CD16⁻ MO. In conclusion, our data show that human peripheral blood CD16⁺ MO are heterogeneous in function and consist of two subpopulations: CD14dim CD16⁺ pro-inflammatory and CD14high CD16⁺ with anti-inflammatory potential.