Abstract
Surfactin has multiple immune activities, such as triggering immune-related defense responses and enhancing humoral and cellular immune responses. While, the mechanisms are still unclear. The maturation of dendritic cells (DCs) is essential for inducing downstream immune response. To shed light on the mechanisms of surfactin-induced immune activities, we verified the influences of surfactin on DCs maturation. The results showed that after stimulated with 20 μg/ml surfactin for 24 h, DCs were conferred morphologic and phenotypic characteristics of a mature state, showing an increased shape index and up-regulated expressions of MHCII and CD40. Moreover, surfactin also induced DCs to release IL-6 and TNF-α, indicating that DCs were functionally mature. In addition, the IκB-α level in surfactin-treated DCs was significantly reduced while the nuclear p65 level was notably increased, preliminarily indicating that nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) signaling pathway might play an important role in surfactin-induced DCs maturation.
Highlights
Surfactin, a bacterial cyclic lipopeptide, is produced by various strains of Bacillus subtilis [1]
As the most wellknown biosurfactant produced by B. subtilis, surfactin has been reported to have multiple immune activities, such as, enhancing humoral and cellular immune responses [14], and triggering immune-related defense responses after intramuscularly or subcutaneously immunized [15]
As the most notable professional antigen presenting cells (APC), dendritic cell (DC) are considered to play a crucial role in the establishment of both innate and adaptive immune responses [16], and their maturation is responsible for the ability to tailor immune responses [6]
Summary
A bacterial cyclic lipopeptide, is produced by various strains of Bacillus subtilis [1]. As one of the most effective biosurfactants, surfactin is built from a heptapeptide and a β-hydroxy fatty acid with variable chain lengths of 13–15 carbon atoms [2]. This biosurfactant is biodegradable and less toxic than chemical surfactants and has a lot of applicable potential in various fields [3]. Because of the low expressions of major histocompatibility complex II (MHCII) and co-stimulating factors, immature DCs are inability to initiate immune responses [7]. The maturity of DCs provides them with a tremendous ability of presenting antigens, occupying a momentous part in inducing downstream immune responses
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