1% FBS media check details prior to stimulation. CAL-1 cells transfected with the HA-MyD88 plasmid were stimulated with “K” ODN for 30 min,

washed with PBS, and lysed in buffer containing 0.1% NP-40 for 20 min on ice. Cell lysates were clarified by centrifugation at 13 000 × g for 20 min and quantified by BCA Protein Assay (Pierce). A total of 30 μg of this protein lysate was used as the whole cell lysate control. A total of 500 μg of the protein lysate was incubated overnight with rotation at 4°C in 1 mL of lysis buffer with 100 μL of anti-HA affinity matrix beads (Roche ref. 11815016001). Following incubation, the beads were washed three times with lysis buffer and prepared for Western blot analysis. CAL-1 cells and primary pDCs were stimulated with “K” ODN for 30–60 min. Cells were then fixed in 2% paraformaldehyde and permeabilized with methanol. CultureWell Chambered coverslips (Electron Microscopy Sciences, Selleck Ipatasertib Hatfield, PA, USA) were treated with 0.05 μg/μL of Cell-Tak (BD Biosciences, Franklin Lakes, NJ, USA). Cells were seeded onto the cover slips, blocked and stained with mouse

anti-IRF-5 (10T1) (Abcam) and rabbit anti-NF-κB p105/p50 (#3035) or anti-NF-κB p65 (D14E12) (Cell Signaling) Ab. For immunofluorescence studies, washed cells were incubated with complementary anti-mouse and anti-rabbit secondary antibodies conjugated with AlexaFluor 488 and AlexaFluor 546, respectively. Nuclear co-localization was evaluated using the ImageJ plugin “Colocalization Highlighter”. For PLA studies, washed cells were incubated with anti-mouse and anti-rabbit secondary PLA probes (Olink Bioscience, Uppsalla, Sweden) and then with ligation and Red Amplification solutions as per manufacturer’s instructions.

Washed cells were sealed onto the slide using Duolink II Mounting Medium with DAPI. Image stacks were captured using an inverted Zeiss LSM 710 confocal microscope and evaluated using the analyze particles feature of ImageJ. Total RNA was extracted from CAL-1 cells or primary pDCs as per manufacturer’s instructions (Qiagen, Germantown, MD, USA). The RNA was reverse transcribed into cDNA (QuantiTect RT Kit; Qiagen) and quantified by TaqMan-based real-time PCR (Life Technologies, Carlsbad, CA, USA). The following TaqMan probes were used: IFNB1 (Hs02621180_s1), IL-6 (Hs00174131 _m1), IL23A (Hs00372324_m1), TNF (Hs00174128_m1), Phosphoglycerate kinase NF-κB1 (Hs00765730_m1), RELA (Hs01042010_m1), MyD88 (Hs00182082_m1), TRAF6 (Hs00371508_m1), IRF-1 (Hs009 71960_m1), IRF-3 (Hs015 47283_m1), IRF-5 (Hs001 58114_m1), IRF-7 (Hs010 14809_g1), IRF-8 (Hs0 0175 238_m1), and GAPDH (Hs0275 8991_g1). GAPDH levels did not change upon stimulation or during siRNA gene silencing. Data were analyzed by StepOne Software v2.1. using GAPDH as an endogenous control. The authors would like to thank Debra Tross-Currie for technical assistance; Bruce Beutler for providing the HA-MyD88 plasmid; and Hide Shirota, Stefan Sauer, Lyudmila A. Lyakh, and Dan McVicar for discussions and advice.