Developing dendritic cells become 'lacy' cells packed with fat and glycogen

On maturation, dendritic cells (DCs) become highly active cells equipped for antigen uptake, migration and clustering and activation of T cells. We therefore asked whether DCs acquire fat and glycogen stores as they mature. DCs were generated from mouse bone marrow stem cells by culturing with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) for 7-8 days. Stimulation of the DCs with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) for the last 24 hr of culture, or exposure to 1-15 ng/ml of interleukin (IL)-4 during development, resulted in production of DCs not only with an increased ability to stimulate T cells but also with an increasingly lacy appearance on transmission electron microscopy, with multiple unstained areas in the cytoplasm. This changed morphology was associated with the presence of increasing amounts of fat and glycogen, identified by Sudan Black and periodic acid leukofushin/Schiff (PAS) staining, respectively. Lacy DCs up-regulated type 1 and type 2 scavenger receptors, providing possible mechanisms contributing to these changes. Lacy DCs were found occasionally amongst freshly isolated splenic and lymph node DCs. DCs can be isolated from human adipose tissue, and we tested whether lacy DCs acquiring fat and glycogen were present in mouse omentum. CD45(+) cells migrating from the omentum expressed specific DC markers CD11c and 33D1, costimulatory molecules and major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II, and most showed darkly staining fat inclusions. Thus, during development, DCs can acquire large amounts of fat and glycogen, accumulation of which is promoted by antigen exposure and modulated by the cytokine milieu and location, and which may act as a link between energy stores and immune function.