Isolation of Dendritic Cells from Human Blood for In Vitro Interaction Studies with Fungal Antigens

A method is described to generate dendritic cells (DCs) from human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). The procedure involves two major steps: (1) preparation of monocytes from human PBMCs and (2) in vitro differentiation of the monocytes into DCs by growth factors and cytokines. Cells obtained in this fashion are screened for the presence or absence of antigenic markers characteristic of DCs by flow cytometry.