Figure 2. Dendritic cell maturation.

(A) D1 dendritic cells (2×10⁵ cells) were incubated with VLPs (5 µg) alone or formulated with E₈Pam₂Cys (0.01 nmoles/ml) or Alhydrogel (5 µg) in a total volume of 1 ml. For comparative purposes within all experiments, cells were also either left untreated, exposed to LPS (5 µg/ml) or to similar amounts of each adjuvant alone. Cell surface MHC class II expression was determined after 16 hours using a PE-conjugated anti-IA/IE antibody. Cells expressing low levels of MHC Class II molecules were deemed to be immature whilst those expressing high levels were considered to be mature. Shown are representative histograms depicting cell surface MHC class II expression from one of three experiments conducted separately. MHC Class II^high expressing cells are shaded in grey. For dosing experiments, cells were also incubated with increasing amounts of (B) VLPs, (C) E₈Pam₂Cys, (D) Alhydrogel or VLPs (5 µg) formulated with increasing amounts of (E) E₈Pam₂Cys, or (F) Alhydrogel.