Immunomodulatory effect of resistin in human dendritic cells stimulated with lipoteichoic acid from Staphylococcus aureus

Resistin is an adipokine whose physiologic role in obesity, type II diabetes mellitus, and inflammatory diseases has been a subject of debate because while it is expressed in adipocytes and adipose tissue in mouse, it is expressed in leukocytes, such as macrophages, in human. In the present study, we attempt to define the effect of resistin on human dendritic cells (DCs) derived from CD14+ monocytes. When DCs were stimulated with lipoteichoic acid (LTA) and treated with various concentrations of resistin, antigen-uptake process and the endocytic capacity of DCs were decreased. It is intriguing that resistin attenuated cytokine production in LTA-primed DCs. Consequently, T cell activity was reduced when lymphocytes were mixed with Staphylococcus aureus-primed autologous DCs treated with resistin compared to S. aureus-primed DCs without resistin. Our results suggest that resistin interferes with the efficacy of immune responses activated by Gram-positive bacterial infection in human DCs.