Figure 2.

Virally expressed hCD40L induces DC maturation and T-cell activation ex vivo. A549 cells were infected with Ad3-hTERT-CMV-hCD40L or Ad3-hTERT-E1A and supernatants were collected and filtered. Immature DCs were cultured with filtered supernatants for 48hrs. LPS and recombinant hCD40L protein were used as positive controls. After 48h, a portion of DCs was evaluated for Median fluorescence intensity (MFI) for CD83 (A), CD80 (B) and CD86 (C) of CD11c± populationsor co-cultured with T cells. Activation status of CD4 + T cells (D) and CD8 + T (E) cells was assessed 24h later by the expression of CD69. Cells were stained and analyzed by flow cytometry. The assay was done in triplicates. Data presented as mean ± SEM. *, P < 0.05 **; P < 0.01. ***; P < 0.001****; P < 0.0001 by two tailed Student’s t-test.