BIOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF DENDRITIC CELLS - IMPLICATIONS TO THEIR USE IN THE TREATMENT OF CANCER

Dendvitic cells ave the principal initiators of antigen-specific immun e responses. The mechanisms by which they activate resting, naive T ce lls are increasingly well understood. Dendritic cells have several mol ecules on their surface that are critical for T-cell activation; they secrete multiple soluble factors-that are important for T-cell differe ntiation and growth; and they home to areas in lymphoid organs that ar e rich in effector T cells. This knowledge has led to the belief that delivery of antigens with dendritic cells that have been manipulated e x vivo could stimulate powerful cellular immune responses against tumo rs. Pilot clinical trials indicate that dendritic cell vaccines can in duce efficacious tumor-specific immune responses.