PGE 1 -Containing Protocols Generate Mature (Leukemia-Derived) Dendritic Cells Directly from Leukemic Whole Blood.

Dendritic cells (DCs) and leukemia-derived DC (DC _leu ) are potent stimulators of various immunoreactive cells and they play a pivotal role in the (re-) activation of the immune system. As a potential treatment tool for patients with acute myeloid leukemia, we developed and analyzed two new PGE ₁ -containing protocols (Pici- _PGE1 , Kit M) to generate DC/DC _leu ex vivo from leukemic peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) or directly from leukemic whole blood (WB) to simulate physiological conditions. Pici- _PGE1 generated significantly higher amounts of DCs from leukemic and healthy PBMCs when compared to control and comparable amounts as the already established protocol Pici- _PGE2 . The proportions of sufficient DC-generation were even higher after DC/DC _leu -generation with Pici- _PGE1 . With Kits, it was possible to generate DCs and DC _leu directly from leukemic and healthy WB without induction of blast proliferation. The average amounts of generated DCs and DC _leu -subgroups were comparable with all Kits. The PGE ₁ containing Kit M generated significantly higher amounts of mature DCs when compared to the PGE ₂ -containing Kit K and increased the anti-leukemic-activity. In summary PGE ₁ -containing protocols were suitable for generating DC/DC _leu from PBMCs as well as from WB, which reliably (re-) activated immunoreactive cells, improved the overall ex vivo anti-leukemic activity, and influenced cytokine-release-profiles.