Objective To observe the effect of transfer of immature mouse myeloid dendritic cells （DC） generated with low-dose granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor （GM-CSF） on cardiac allograft survival. Methods Mouse DC were generated with standard doses or low doses GM-CSF from bone marrow cells, the phenotype and functional properties of these DC were compared through fluorescence-activated cell sorting（FACS） analysis and mixed lymphocyte reaction（MLR）, 1. 0 × 106 DC generated with low doses GM-CSF were administered to the recipients 7 days before transplantation, and the cardiac allograft survival were observed. Results In contrast to DC generated with standard doses, DC generated with low doses were phenotypically immature DC （CD11c＋, CD80- , CD86- , MHCⅡlow）, and induced allogeneic T cell unresponsiveness, and administration of these DC to recipients prolonged cardiac allograft survival from 6.3±1.2 days to 14.3±1.9 days. Conclusions DC generated from mouse bone marrow progenitors in low doses of GM-CSF are phenotypically and functionally immature, and prolong cardiac allograft survival when they are administered 7 clays before transplantation.
