Abstract: Objective To investigate the differentiated ability of peripheral blood mononuclear cells(PBMC) to dendritic cell(DC) in patients with syphilis.Methods The PBMC isolated from syphilis patients as well as healthy people were cultured in the completed medium containing GM-CSF,IL-4.The morphology of the DCs was observed using inverted microscope.The phenotypes were investigated with flow cytometry method.To perform mixed lymphocyte reaction(MLR),DCs were cultured with allogeneic T cells.Results The expression of CD80,CD83,CD86 and HLA-DR in syphilis patients were(77.92%),(39.34)%,(75.78%) and(95.42%),respectively.The expression level of CD80 was higher than the controlled people while the level of CD86 was lower.There were no significant differences between the syphilis patients and healthy people as to the level of CD83 and HLA-DR.The results of MLR suggest that the PBMC derived from syphilis can stimulate the T cells proliferation just like normal.Conclusion Compared with healthy people,the DC induced from the PBMC of the syphilis patients has characteristic morphology and the function of the presenting antigen is normal.

Key words: syphilis, dendritic cell, GM-CSF, IL-4