http://repub.eur.nl/res/aut/13547/ List of Publications en http://repub.eur.nl/static-eur/img/logo.png http://repub.eur.nl http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/12257/ 2008-04-16T00:00:00Z The pregnancy hormone hCG is secreted by trophoblasts in the placenta and peaks in the first trimester of pregnancy. hCG is a member of the pituitary glycoprotein family, and is consists of an α-subunit and a β-subunit. The primary function of hCG is to induce the production of progesterone and estrogen by the corpus luteum during early pregnancy. Data are accumulating on a role for hCG in immune regulation. For instance treatment with hCG has been shown to be beneficial in animal models for type I diabetes, Sjögren’s syndrome and rheumatoid arthritis. Mononuclear phagocytic cells are derived from progenitor cells in the bone marrow. As initiators of the immune response, these cells are important in both innate and adaptive immunity. Monocytes, macrophages (Mϕ), and dendritic cells (DC) are all belong to mononuclear phagocytic cells which reside in the peripheral blood or tissues and exert with different functions. Mononuclear phagocytic cells bear the hCG receptor, and hCG has been shown to influence several properties of these cells. The scope of this thesis is the immunoregulatory effect of hCG on mononuclear phagocytic cells. This aim was approached by investigating the effect of hCG treatment on the function of monocytes, Mϕ, and DC in respect to their innate or adaptive function in the immune response. Moreover, the possible mechanisms underlying the regulation by hCG were studied. http://repub.eur.nl/res/pub/10396/ 2005-01-01T00:00:00Z Dendritic cells (DC) are crucial cells of the immune system, and bridge the essential connection between innate and adaptive immunity. They reside in the periphery as sentinels where they take up antigens. Upon activation, they migrate to lymphoid organs and present there the processed antigens to T cells, thereby activating them and eliciting a potent immune response. Dendritic cells are bone marrow-derived cells, still big controversies exist about their in vivo development. In vitro, DC can be generated from multiple precursor cells, among them lymphoid and myeloid committed progenitors. Although it remains unknown how DC are generated in vivo, studying the functions of in vitro generated DC results in fundamental knowledge of the DC biology with promising applications for future medicine. Therefore, in this review, we present current protocols for the generation of DC from precursors in vitro. We will do this for the mouse system, where most research occurs and for the human system, where research concentrates on implementing DC biology in disease treatments.