Description:
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>Dendritic cells (DCs) link the innate and adaptive immune system. Currently, murine DCs for cell biology investigations are developed from MHC class II‐negative bone marrow (BM) precursor cells, non‐depleted BM cells or BM monocytes in the presence of granulocyte‐macrophage colony‐stimulating factor (GM‐CSF). Here we demonstrate an isolation procedure of functionally intact myeloid CD11c<jats:sup>+</jats:sup> CD11b<jats:sup>+</jats:sup> DCs derived from murine CD34‐positive precursors. DCs derived from CD34<jats:sup>+</jats:sup> cells show functional internalization, maturation, cytokine secretion, MHC‐restricted antigen presentation, and MHCII retrograde transport of antigens from the lysosomes to the cell surface. In comparison to the established method, the advantages of this isolation procedure are a shorter cultivation period, a superior transfection efficiency, the yield of a purer and more homogeneous population of immature DCs, and less consumption of cell culture medium and GM‐CSF. The new isolation procedure and the functional quality of CD34<jats:sup>+</jats:sup> cell‐derived murine myeloid DCs make them ideally suited for immunology and cell biology studies.</jats:p>