Knockout efficiency and maturation of Cdc42^−/− dendritic cells. At day 8 of culture, bone marrow (BM)–derived dendritic cells (DCs) were matured with 200 ng/mL lipopolysaccharide for 24 hours and used for experiments. (A) Cdc42 expression was determined by Western blot analysis of wild-type (WT) and Cdc42^−/− DC lysates. Actin expression was used as loading control. Cdc42^−/− DCs with no detectable Cdc42 stain were chosen for experiments. (B) Size (dot plots) and maturation (histograms) of WT and Cdc42^−/− DCs were analyzed by flow cytometric analysis. Expression of surface maturation markers on DCs (CD11c-positive cells) was detected with PE-labeled antibodies against MHCII, CD40, CD86, and CCR7 (white open curve) and corresponding isotype controls (gray closed curve). Representative result of independent DC cultures derived from BM of 4 WT and 4 Cdc42^−/− mice.