Mannose receptor mediated antigen uptake and presentation in human dendritic cells

In an immature state, dendritic cells (DC) can capture antigen via at least two mechanisms. First, DC use macropinocytosis for continuous uptake of large amounts of soluble antigens. Second, they express high levels of mannose receptor that can mediate internalization of glycosylated ligands. We found that dendritic cells can present mannosylated antigen 100-1000 fold more efficiently than non-mannosylated antigen. Immunocytochemistry as well as subcellular fractionation demonstrated that the mannose receptor and MHC class II molecules were located in distinct subcellular compartments. These results demonstrate that the mannose receptor endows DC with a high capacity to present glycosylated antigens at very low concentrations.