Objective   To study the effect of outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) derived from Salmonellatyphimurium (ST) on the ultrastructural features and immune function of dendritic cells (DC).

  Methods   Mice bone marrow cells were collected aseptically, and myeloid DC were generated by the combined induction and amplification with recombinant mouse granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and recombinant mouse interleukin-4 (rm IL-4). Cell morphology was observed under inverted phase contrast microscope and the phenotype was identified with flow cytometry. ST-OMVs were isolated through ultracentrifugation. The survival rate of DC was assessed with CCK-8 assay, and the stimulus concentration of OMVs was henceforth determined. The ultrastructural characteristics of DC loaded with OMVs were observed with transmission electron microscopy. The cytokine secretion, surface molecule expression and phagocytic capacity of DC were examined with flow cytometry.

  Results   The DC induced and amplified in vitro displayed typical DC phenotype in morphological analysis and the purity of DC exceeded 85%. Transmission electron microscopy showed that there were large numbers of protrusions on the cell surface. After stimulation with ST-OMVs, it was observed that the dendritic structures on the surface of DC were reduced and a large number of phagolysosomes were found in the cytoplasm. In addition, increased numbers of mitochondria, swelling and typical apoptosis were observed. After treatment with ST-OMVs at 5 μg/mL and 10 μg/mL, the secretion of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) of DC increased significantly (P<0.05). Furthermore, the immature DC could differentiate into mature DCs after stimulation with ST-OMVs, which were characterized by a decrease in phagocytic capacity (P<0.05) and an upregulation of phenotypic markers (P<0.05).

  Conclusion   ST-OMVs can stimulate DC to produce TNF-α and IL-1β and promote DC maturation and antigen presentation.