Transformation of dendritic cells from plasmacytoid to myeloid in a leukemic plasmacytoid dendritic cell line (PMDC05)

We investigated the transformation from pDCs to mDCs in a pDC line (PMDC05) which was established from a patient with pDC leukemia in our laboratory. PMDC05 cells were separated into two fractions according to the expression of BDCA1 and CD123. BDCA1−CD123+ cells were found to be pDC-like cells by their morphology, surface phenotypes, mRNA expression and the function. In addition, BDCA1−CD123+ cells were demonstrated to have a proliferating capacity and revealed the ability to transform to BDCA1+CD123− cells which showed mDC-like properties. Our data demonstrated the possibility of transformation from pDCs to mDCs in human DC lineage.