Fig. 2.

Phenotypic profiles of dendritic cells (DCs) stimulated with different combinations of maturation factors. Immature DCs were stimulated for 48 h with single or pairwise combinations of tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α, CD40L, polyinosinic : polycytidylic acid [poly(I:C)] and peptidoglycan (PGN), and maturation status was assessed by expression of cell surface markers (CD83, HLA-DR, CD86, CD40, CD80 and CCR7). As a positive control, matured DCs matured with cytokine cocktail (TNF-α, interleukin-1β, IL-6 and prostaglandin E₂) were included. Values represent mean fluorescence intensity (MFI) ± standard error of the mean from three independent experiments. *Increased or decreased MFI with respect to control (DCs matured with cytokine cocktail) is statistically significant (P < 0·05).