Figure 6. The stimulatory effect of EBER on pDC is TLR7 dependent.
In vitro transcribed and gel purified EBER were loaded onto DOTAP and incubated with sorted pDC (50,000 cells), with or without preincubation for 15 minutes with inhibitors of TLR7 (IRS 661), TLR9 (IRS 869), and TLR7/9 (IRS 954) . After 18 h IFN-α levels were measured in the supernatants by ELISA. Greater than 90% of cells were viable after stimulation as determined by trypan blue staining. ND (not detected) represents IFN-α less than 12.5 pg/ml. Statistical analysis was performed by 1-Way ANOVA followed by Dunnett’s comparison.