Cytokines are used to maintain immune cell cultures as well as activate and differentiate immune cells to the desired phenotype. Using recombinant cytokines and growth factors helps optimize immune cell functions in vitro and contributes to successful immune cell culture. Gibco PeproTech recombinant cytokines are designed and manufactured to help standardize your cell culture conditions and achieve reliable immunology research results.


Recombinant cytokines for culturing different immune cell types

Find the interleukins and other recombinant cytokines you need to culture the different cells of the immune system. Click the name of the cell type below to jump to the relevant section.


Cytokines for T cell culture and development

cartoon of a T cell

Cytokines provide many of the necessary signals for T cell activation, proliferation, differentiation, and survival in vitro. Human recombinant cytokines such as these can be used to reproducibly induce cell proliferation and differentiation to support development of CAR T cell therapies.

T cells can be broadly classified as CD4+ or CD8+ T cells (also known as cytotoxic T cells), each with several subtypes. Activation and differentiation of these T cells is driven by the cytokines listed below.

Recombinant cytokines for maintaining naïve T cell immune cultures

Interleukins such as IL-2, IL-7, and IL-15 promote T cell proliferation by providing the necessary signals for T cells to expand in culture.

Recombinant cytokines for activation and differentiation of CD4+ T cell subsets

The polarization and functionality of T helper cells is influenced by cytokines present in their microenvironment. Th1 cells are CD4+ cells involved in cellular immunity; interleukin-12 (IL-12) and interferon-gamma (IFN-γ) are crucial drivers of Th1 polarization. Th2 cells are involved in humoral immunity, with polarization driven by the presence of interleukin-4 (IL-4). Transforming Growth Factor-beta (TGF-β), by its immunosuppressive properties, helps drive CD4+ T cell populations to Th17, Treg, and Tfh phenotypes. Additional cytokines shown below contribute to the polarization, maintenance and expansion of these subsets.

Recombinant cytokines for in vitro polarization of CD8+ effector T cells

Effector CD8+ T cells are highly cytotoxic to infected cells and tumor cells.

Recombinant cytokines for generating and maintaining CD8+ memory T cells

Memory CD8+ T cells develop after the initial infection and different subsets reside in different locations throughout the body.

Effector memoryCentral memoryTissue memory


Cytokines for NK cell culture and differentiation

cartoon of a NK cell

Cytokines play important roles in NK cell culture by providing signals for activation, proliferation, differentiation, and effector functions. For example, IL-15 promotes the differentiation of NK cells toward maturity generating memory-like NK cells, which exhibit enhanced effector functions and long-term persistence.

Applying the appropriate recombinant cytokines at the right time and optimizing their concentrations in vitro are important aspects to productive NK cell cultures.

Recombinant cytokines for maintenance, expansion, and differentiation of NK cells


Cytokines for B cell proliferation and differentiation

Cartoon of a B cell

Cytokines are involved in multiple other aspects of successful B cell culture including growth, survival, and differentiation. One key feature of mature B cells is antibody production and class switching. In B cell culture, recombinant cytokines help drive these functions. For instance, IL-5 enhances the production of IgA antibodies, while IL-10 can stimulate the production of various antibody isotypes, including IgG and IgE.

Cultivation of B cells in a laboratory setting often requires supplementation of media with recombinant cytokines. 

Recombinant cytokines for B cell proliferation and differentiation


Cytokines for monocyte and macrophage cell culture

Cartoon of a macrophage

Monocytes are leukocytes that play key roles in homeostasis and pathogen response. Monocytes circulate through the body and are recruited to certain sites by chemokines. In immune cell culture, various cytokines are needed to maintain monocytes, activate them to differentiate, and expand macrophages and their subtypes.

Application of recombinant cytokines in culture can drive macrophages to different phenotypes. For example, IFN-gamma combined with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induces the polarization of monocytes/macrophages into an M1 phenotype, which is involved in pro-inflammatory responses and pathogen clearance. Alternatively, monocytes can be driven to one of several M2 phenotypes based on the cytokines to which they are exposed.

M2 macrophages comprise several subtypes with distinct characteristics related to cytokine expression, chemokine secretion, and immunological functions. These subsets of M2 macrophages contribute to processes such as infection prevention, tissue repair, angiogenesis, and immunomodulation.

Recombinant cytokines for monocyte/primary macrophage (M0) immune cell culture

Recombinant cytokines for differentiation of macrophage subsets

Protocol: Differentiation of macrophages from blood monocytes using M-CSF


Cytokines for dendritic cell culture, activation, and maturation

Cartoon of a dendritic cell

Dendritic cells (DCs) can be differentiated from monocytes or induced pluripotent stem cells or isolated from bone marrow. Regardless of source, recombinant cytokines are used to influence DC activation, maturation, and function in vitro. For example, both interferon-alpha (IFN-α) and IFN-γ enhance the antigen-presenting capacity of DCs in culture via signaling pathways that upregulate MHC class I and II molecules.

Optimizing the recombinant cytokine mixture in DC cultures is essential for developing robust cell-based assays, immunotherapies and effectively studying the complex interactions between DCs and other components of the immune system.

Recombinant cytokines for DC culture, activation and maturation

Why use recombinant cytokines for immune cell culture?

Immune cell culture models serve to help advance our understanding of immunology and develop innovative therapeutic approaches to disease. Using recombinant cytokines can help improve certain qualities of immune cell culture and immune cell differentiation.

  • Reproducibility and consistency: Applying consistent levels of recombinant cytokines, including interleukins and interferons, to immune cell cultures helps create a standardized environment that can be reliably created time after time.
  • Scalability: Cytokines are essential for achieving scalable immune cell expansion because they provide the necessary factors for cell proliferation and survival. Human recombinant cytokines support the efficient and scalable production and differentiation of immune cells for immunotherapeutic applications. 

References

Resources for immune cell culture
Resources

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