Liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs) isolated ex vivo by a novel MACS-based technology induce proliferation in naïve CD4+ T-cells and Th2 effector cells

The liver has been demonstrated to contribute to the induction of systemic tolerance by trapping, deletion or modulation of T-cells. This property seems to be at least partially mediated by liver sinusoidal endothelial cells (LSECs) since in vivo priming of CD8+ T-cells on LSECs leads to development of anergic T-cell subsets. Studying the function of endothelial cells (ECs) ex vivo usually meets experimental obstacles: isolation protocols are time consuming and require considerable technical equipment. Here we make use of the novel antibody ME-9F1 (murine endothelial cell antibody 9-F1) strongly reacting with mo…