Gamma-ray irradiation impairs dendritic cell migration to CCL19 by down-regulation of CCR7 and induction of cell apoptosis

Dendritic cells (DCs) are the most potent antigen-presenting cells and play a crucial role in the regulation of immune response and migration of DCs into secondary lymphoid tissues also play an important role in the initiation of innate and adaptive immunity. Radiation therapy is now a routine treatment for certain types of cancer and over 20 percent of cancer patients will require radiation therapy during the treatment of their disease. However, the influence of ionizing irradiation on the migratory ability of DCs is largely unknown. In this article, we report that γ ray irradiation can significantly inhibit LPS-triggered up regulation of CCR7 expression and PGE2 production by DC, thus impairing DC migration towards CCL19 in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, γ ray exposed DC also displayed an increased apoptosis rate and decreased cell viability. Furthermore, we demonstrate that exogenous PGE2 can partly reduce the gamma-ray induced migratory impairment and restored CCR7 expression of DC. Our work suggests that γ irradiation affects DC function at multiple steps during the immune response including DC migration, and that PGE2, via control of CCR7 expression, is an important regulator of DC migration.