To establish a more appropriate animal recipient for xenotransplantation, NOD/ SCID/␥ c null mice double homozygous for the severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mutation and interleukin-2R␥ (IL-2R␥) allelic mutation (␥ c null ) were generated by 8 backcross matings of C57BL/6J-␥ c null mice and NOD/Shi-scid mice. When human CD34 ؉ cells from umbilical cord blood were transplanted into this strain, the engraftment rate in the peripheral circulation, spleen, and bone marrow were significantly higher than that in NOD/Shiscid mice treated with anti-asialo GM1 antibody or in the ␤2-microglobulindeficient NOD/LtSz-scid (NOD/SCID/ ␤2m null ) mice, which were as completely defective in NK cell activity as NOD/SCID/ ␥ c null mice. The same high engraftment rate of human mature cells was observed in ascites when peripheral blood mononuclear cells were intraperitoneally transferred. In addition to the high engraftment rate, multilineage cell differentiation was also observed.

We investigated the role of antigen-presenting cells in early interferon (IFN)-γ production in normal and recombinase activating gene 2–deficient (Rag-2−/−) mice in response to Listeria monocytogenes (LM) infection and interleukin (IL)-12 administration. Levels of serum IFN-γ in Rag-2−/− mice were comparable to those of normal mice upon either LM infection or IL-12 injection. Depletion of natural killer (NK) cells by administration of anti-asialoGM1 antibodies had little effect on IFN-γ levels in the sera of Rag-2−/− mice after LM infection or IL-12 injection. Incubation of splenocytes from NK cell–depleted Rag-2−/− mice with LM resulted in the production of IFN-γ that was completely blocked by addition of anti–IL-12 antibodies. Both dendritic cells (DCs) and monocytes purified from splenocytes were capable of producing IFN-γ when cultured in the presence of IL-12. Intracellular immunofluorescence analysis confirmed the IFN-γ production from DCs. It was further shown that IFN-γ was produced predominantly by CD8α+ lymphoid DCs rather than CD8α− myeloid DCs. Collectively, our data indicated that DCs are potent in producing IFN-γ in response to IL-12 produced by bacterial infection and play an important role in innate immunity and subsequent T helper cell type 1 development in vivo.

Activation of dendritic cells (DCs) and macrophages by infectious agents leads to secretion of interleukin 12 (IL-12), which subsequently induces interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) production by multiple cell types that include DCs and macrophages. In turn, IFN-gamma acts on macrophages to augment IL-12 secretion and to produce nitric oxide (NO), which eradicates infected microbes. We show here that in cytokine common gamma subunit-deficient and/or IL-2 receptor beta-deficient mice, production of IL-12, IFN-gamma and NO by DCs and macrophages was severely impaired, as was up-regulation of major histocompatibility complex class II and CD40. Similar phenotypes were observed in DCs and macrophages from IL-15-deficient mice but not in those from IL-2-deficient mice. This shows that the IL-15-IL-15R interaction is critical in early activation of antigen-presenting cells and plays an important role in the innate immune system.