Gold Nanoparticles Stimulate the Maturation and Activation of Mouse Bone Marrow Dendritic Cells

Abstract

Nanomedicine is an interdisciplinary science that links nanotechnology, nanoscience and nanoengineering to the field of health and the use of nanoscale tools, in this case, nanoparticles have great therapeutic potential against target cells such as dendritic cells (DC). DCs are highly motile cells whose main function is antigen presentation; they are mediators between innate and adaptive immunity. In this investigation, DCs were differentiated and matured with granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF), 25 ug/mL and spherical gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) of approximately 30 nm at concentrations of 5 to 200 ug/mL. DCs were obtained from the bone marrow of adult mice; their characterization was performed by means of RT-PCR, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and confocal to know their morphology and the location of the nanoparticles inside. The bone marrow DCs (bmDCs) possibly differentiated into cCD1 dendritic cells, their mature morphological status was determined by the presence of co-stimulatory factors (CD40, CD86 and CD11c), in addition to MHC II and CIITA when in contact with AuNPs, the results were confirmed by SEM observation due to their star-like shape. In terms of the location of the AuNPs they would be clustered and outside the nucleus. The discovery of nanoparticles that do not cause significant cytotoxicity, activate dendritic cells, and produce cytokines, causing phenotypic changes in them, enhancing, and modulating the adaptive immune response or generating a targeted immunotherapy in the presence of different pathogens in the organism.