Quantitative proteomic changes in LPS-activated monocyte-derived dendritic cells: a SWATH-MS study

Dendritic cells are key immune cells that respond to pathogens and co-ordinate many innate and adaptive immune responses. Quantitative mass spectrometry using Sequential Window Acquisition of all THeoretical fragment-ion spectra-Mass Spectrometry (SWATH-MS) was performed here to determine the global alterations in monocyte-derived dendritic cells (moDCs) in response to stimulation with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). A moDC library of 4,666 proteins was generated and proteins were quantified at 0, 6 and 24 h post-LPS stimulation using SWATH-MS. At 6 h and 24 h post-LPS exposure, the relative abundance of 227 and 282 proteins was statistically significantly altered (p-value≤0.05), respectively. Functional annotation of proteins exhibiting significant changes in expression between the various time points led to the identification of clusters of proteins implicated in distinct cellular processes including interferon and interleukin signalling, endocytosis, the ER-phagosome pathway and antigen-presentation. Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I proteins were highly upregulated at 24 h, in SWATH-MS, whilst MHC class II proteins exhibited comparatively less change over this period. This study provides new detailed insight into the global proteomic changes that occur in moDCs during antigen processing and presentation and further demonstrates the potential of SWATH-MS for the quantitative study of proteins involved in cellular processes.