Dendritic cell vaccination and optimal antigen presentation

Abstract

Dendritic cells are innate immune cells that take up antigens and present them to naive T cells of the adaptive immune system. Upon activation, the T cells mediate antigen-specific immune responses against the antigen. The use of dendritic cells for anti-tumour therapy is currently under investigation. By pulsing dendritic cells ex vivo with tumour-derived antigens and inject them into patients with cancer, anti-tumour immune responses can be elicited. Several different strategies of dendritic cell vaccination have been investigated already with varying success. In this review, clinical studies on dendritic cell vaccination against malignant melanoma and mutiple myeloma are discussed to elucidate which strategy could be optimal for use in conjunction with allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplatantion in leukaemia patients.