Endogenous and exogenous estrogens enhance pDC cytokine production after TLR-7/TLR-9 stimulation. Female WT C57BL/6 (B6) mice were ovariectomized (OVX) or not (Sham) before sexual maturity (3-4 weeks). In adulthood (7-8 weeks), bone marrow cells were restimulated ex vivo in the presence of R-848 for 3 hours. Dot plot showing the frequency of pDCs (mPDCA1+) producing IFN-α/β (A) and TNF-α (B). The lines on scatter plots indicate mean values. Results from individual mice are shown. P values were determined using the Mann-Whitney U test. (C-E) Ovariectomized mice were treaded or not with E2 (0.05-mg E2 pellet, 60-day release) for 2 weeks. pDCs were stimulated with R-848 and analyzed for IFN-α (C) and TNF-α (D). (E) Purified bone marrow pDCs were stimulated with the TLR-9 ligand CpG-2216. Culture supernatant was collected after 24 hours of stimulation, and IFN-α (F) and TNF-α (G) were measured by ELISA. Data are representative of 2 or 3 independent experiments.
