树突状细胞在肿瘤免疫治疗中的应用研究进展

树突状细胞（DC）是人体内最强的抗原提呈细胞。未成熟的DC可摄取抗原并迁移至淋巴器官,将抗原信息传递给免疫系统,引发免疫应答。研究表明,DC在启动抗肿瘤免疫中发挥着强大的功能。近年来,以DC为基础的肿瘤疫苗已成为肿瘤免疫治疗的热点。简要综述了各种DC疫苗的制备和临床应用。     

基于树突状细胞的抗肿瘤疫苗研究进展

树突状细胞(dendritic cells, DCs)是一类多功能抗原提呈细胞,在固有免疫和适应性免疫应答的启动及调控中发挥着重要作用。目前,大量研究表明机体可通过多种方式调动和调节DC的功能,从而增强其抗肿瘤作用。其中,以肿瘤抗原、肿瘤细胞裂解物或全肿瘤细胞作为刺激物致敏DC得到的DC疫苗,在临床前研究中展示出了可观的抗肿瘤效应,部分DC疫苗已进入临床试验阶段。该文将重点对基于DC的肿瘤疫苗制备方法、临床前及临床研究进展进行综述。     

树突状细胞的靶向抗肿瘤治疗进

树突状细胞(dendritic cell,DC)是目前已知体内最强的抗原提呈细胞(ARC),其在肿瘤免疫中具有重要的作用.DC的靶向抗肿瘤治疗成为当今肿瘤免疫治疗的研究热点.本文就DC的抗肿瘤机制、DC基因修饰策略及DC疫苗的临床治疗进展进行综述.     

结核分枝杆菌与树突状细胞相互作用的研究进展

结核分枝杆菌(Mycobacterium tuberculosis, MTB)感染引起的结核病是严重威胁人类健康的慢性传染病。树突状细胞(dendritic cell, DC)是重要的抗原提呈细胞及连接机体固有免疫和适应性免疫应答的桥梁细胞。DC通过表面表达受体识别并吞噬病原体,参与抗原提呈,并发育成熟,同时分泌不同类型的细胞因子,决定T细胞分化方向,最终影响细胞免疫应答效应。在MTB感染过程中各成分与DC相互作用的特性研究,是分析MTB毒力基因及致病机理的基础,并可为结核疫苗研究提供候选优势抗原。现对目前MTB与DC的相互作用机制的研究进展作一概述。     

树突状细胞和癌症的免疫学治疗

树突状细胞(dendritc cells,DC)是一种抗原提呈细胞,能特异地引发和调控机体免疫。它具有抗原呈现功能而不损害免疫系统,不仅能够激活CD4^ 辅助T细胞和CD8^ 细胞毒性T细胞,还能活化B细胞和自然杀伤细胞。已有的研究让人们看到了癌症疫苗的希望,但还处于早期阶段,有许多尚未确定的因素。因此有关DC疫苗用于对肿瘤的保护性和治疗性免疫还有待于进一步的研究。     

树突状细胞在抗感染免疫研究中的最新进展

树突状细胞(Dendritic cell,DC)是体内功能最强的抗原提呈细胞,也是介导机体固有免疫应答和适应性免疫应答的桥梁,其作用也越来越受到科研工作者的关注,而树突状细胞体外培养技术的发展成熟,为设计和发展DC依赖性疫苗提供了科学依据,也为感染性和肿瘤性疾病的预防和治疗展示了很好的应用前景。因此,对树突状细胞抗感染免疫方面研究的最新进展做一综述。     

人类外周血单核细胞HLA-Ⅱ类抗原的表达及其与抗原提呈功能的关系

人类外周血单核细胞(HPMφ)是重要的抗原提呈细胞(APC)。APC在行使抗原提呈功能时,以其膜Ia抗原的表达为先决条件之一;但最强有力的APC是树突状细胞(DC)。部分HPMφ在一定条件下也可衍变为类似DC样的细胞。只有既是HLA—DR~+又是HLA—DQ~+的HPMφ才具有抗原提呈能力。人类Ia分子在抗原提呈中的作用是保护外来抗原,有利于T细胞的识别和激活,继而发生增殖反应。     

大肠杆菌菌蜕装载质粒DNA实验方法的优化

目的:优化大肠杆菌菌蜕装载质粒的效率,并将装载质粒的菌蜕转染抗原提呈细胞,以提高核酸疫苗的递送水平。方法:将质粒pHH43转化大肠杆菌DH5α,制备大肠杆菌菌蜕;优化菌蜕装载质粒时菌蜕、质粒和膜囊的比例,获得更高的装载效率,通过扫描及透射电镜、流式细胞术观察其形态变化及装载效率;将装载质粒的菌蜕与抗原提呈细胞——巨噬细胞RAW264.7和树突状细胞DC2.4共孵育,观察吞噬效果。结果:优化了大肠杆菌菌蜕装载质粒的效率,当菌蜕、质粒、膜囊的比例为7∶10∶4时效率达到最佳,装载DNA效率达98%以上;抗原提呈细胞吞噬装载了质粒的菌蜕,效率达100%。结论:大肠杆菌菌蜕可高效装载核酸疫苗,且高效被抗原提呈细胞捕获,有助于提高核酸疫苗的递送和免疫效果的提高。     

树突状细胞免疫调节作用及其信号转导机制

树突状细胞（DC）是最强效的抗原提呈细胞。,在抗原的刺激下,DC通过趋化因子作用由外周组织迁移至淋巴组织和器官,同时上调主要组织相容性复合体分子、共刺激分子和黏附分子的表达,分泌细胞因子,获得预激幼稚T细胞的独特能力。DC通过不同的受体吞饮、吞噬和胞吞抗原,例如C型凝集素受体捕获和呈递抗原,通过Toll样受体识别病原体和激活DC。本文主要综述了DC的免疫调节效应及其不同病原体识别受体活化和细胞内信号机制。     

基于树突状细胞的肿瘤疫苗研究进展

1973年,Steinman和Cohn在小鼠脾脏发现具有树枝状突起的独特形态细胞,并将之命名为树突状细胞（dendritic cell,DC）。DC作为连接先天性免疫和获得性免疫的桥梁,是机体识别和摄取病原体和肿瘤抗原的关键细胞,具有抗原提呈能力强和激活初始型T细胞的特点。     

DC research in Australia

Australian researchers have contributed significantly to the understanding of DC biology and clinical application over the past 25 years. Active DC research programs are in place in all major centers, pursuing the key questions of DC phylogeny, physiology and clinical applicability. Pre-clinical and clinical research include the pathophysiology of DC in malignancy, autoimmunity, chronic viral infection, chronic renal failure and transplantation medicine. In addition, Australian laboratories have uncovered some of the subtle complexities of DC subsets, often utilizing novel investigational tools discovered in their laboratories. Above all, Australian DC research has benefited from the existence of a potent culture of active collaboration, which has led to key interactions between cellular immunologists, clinician scientists and clinical researchers. These collaborations have led to the emergence of DC research programs that extend from in vitro and animal models of DC biology through each step of clinical translation and into active clinical trials.     

Dendritic cells,new tools for vaccination

Our rapidly expanding knowledge of the biology of the dendritic cell (DC), a major antigen-presenting cell connecting innate and adaptive immunity, suggests new possibilities for the development of vaccines and therapeutic strategies against pathogens, through the manipulation of their function in vivo, or the injection of the DC itself, once properly instructed ex vivo.     

Functional assessment of human dendritic cells labeled for in vivo 19F magnetic resonance imaging cell tracking

Background aimsDendritic cells (DC) are increasingly being used as cellular vaccines to treat cancer and infectious diseases. While there have been some promising results in early clinical trials using DC-based vaccines, the inability to visualize non-invasively the location, migration and fate of cells once adoptively transferred into patients is often cited as a limiting factor in the advancement of these therapies. A novel perflouropolyether (PFPE) tracer agent was used to label human DC ex vivo for the purpose of tracking the cells in vivo by ¹⁹F magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). We provide an assessment of this technology and examine its impact on the health and function of the DC.MethodsMonocyte-derived DC were labeled with PFPE and then assessed. Cell viability was determined by examining cell membrane integrity and mitochondrial lipid content. Immunostaining and flow cytometry were used to measure surface antigen expression of DC maturation markers. Functional tests included bioassays for interleukin (IL)-12p70 production, T-cell stimulatory function and chemotaxis. MRI efficacy was demonstrated by inoculation of PFPE-labeled human DC into NOD-SCID mice.ResultsDC were effectively labeled with PFPE without significant impact on cell viability, phenotype or function. The PFPE-labeled DC were clearly detected in vivo by ¹⁹F MRI, with mature DC being shown to migrate selectively towards draining lymph node regions within 18 h.ConclusionsThis study is the first application of PFPE cell labeling and MRI cell tracking using human immunotherapeutic cells. These techniques may have significant potential for tracking therapeutic cells in future clinical trials.     

Current approaches in dendritic cell generation and future implications for cancer immunotherapy

The discovery of tumor-associated antigens, which are either selectively or preferentially expressed by tumors, together with an improved insight in dendritic cell biology illustrating their key function in the immune system, have provided a rationale to initiate dendritic cell-based cancer immunotherapy trials. Nevertheless, dendritic cell vaccination is in an early stage, as methods for preparing tumor antigen presenting dendritic cells and improving their immunostimulatory function are continuously being optimized. In addition, recent improvements in immunomonitoring have emphasized the need for careful design of this part of the trials. Still, valuable proofs-of-principle have been obtained, which favor the use of dendritic cells in subsequent, more standardized clinical trials. Here, we review the recent developments in clinical DC generation, antigen loading methods and immunomonitoring approaches for DC-based trials.     

Dendritic cells for specific cancer immunotherapy

The characterization of tumor-associated antigens recognized by human T lymphocytes in a major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-restricted fashion has opened new possibilities for immunotherapeutic approaches to the treatment of human cancers. Dendritic cells (DC) are professional antigen presenting cells that are well suited to activate T cells toward various antigens, such as tumor-associated antigens, due to their potent costimulatory activity. The availability of large numbers of DC, generated either from hematopoietic progenitor cells or monocytes in vitro or isolated from peripheral blood, has profoundly changed pre-clinical research as well as the clinical evaluation of these cells. Accordingly, appropriately pulsed or transfected DC may be used for vaccination in the field of infectious diseases or tumor immunotherapy to induce antigen-specific T cell responses. These observations led to pilot clinical trials of DC vaccination for patients with cancer in order to investigate the feasibility, safety, as well as the immunologic and clinical effects of this approach. Initial clinical studies of human DC vaccines are generating encouraging preliminary results demonstrating induction of tumor-specific immune responses and tumor regression. Nevertheless, much work is still needed to address several variables that are critical for optimizing this approach and to determine the role of DC-based vaccines in tumor immunotherapy.     

Tumor-derived TGF-beta reduces the efficacy of dendritic cell/tumor fusion vaccine

Dendritic cell (DC)-based antitumor vaccine is a novel cancer immunotherapy that is promising for reducing cancer-related mortality. However, results from early clinical trials were suboptimal. A possible explanation is that many tumors secrete immunosuppressive factors such as TGF-beta, which may hamper host immune response to DC vaccine. In this study, we demonstrated that TGF-beta produced by tumors significantly reduced the potency of DC/tumor fusion vaccines. TGF-beta-secreting (CT26-TGF-beta) stable mouse colon cancer cell lines were generated using a retroviral vector expressing TGF-beta. A non-TGF-beta-secreting (CT26-neo) cell line was generated using an empty retroviral vector. The efficacies of DC/tumor fusion vaccines were assessed in vitro and in vivo. DC/CT26-TGF-beta fusion cells failed to induce a strong T cell proliferative response in vitro, mainly due to the effect of TGF-beta on T cell responsiveness rather than DC stimulatory capability. Animals vaccinated with DC/CT26-TGF-beta fusion vaccine had lower tumor-specific CTL activity and had significantly lower survival after tumor challenge as compared with animals immunized with DC/CT26-neo hybrids (45 vs 77%, p < 0.05). Ex vivo exposure of DCs to TGF-beta did not appear to lessen the efficacy of DC vaccine. These data suggest that tumor-derived TGF-beta reduces the efficacy of DC/tumor fusion vaccine via an in vivo mechanism. Neutralization of TGF-beta produced by the fusion cells may enhance the effectiveness of DC-based immunotherapy.     

Clinical applications of dendritic cell vaccination in the treatment of cancer

Dendritic cell (DC) immunotherapy has shown significant promise in animal studies as a potential treatment for cancer. Its application in the clinic depends on the results of human trials. Here, we review the published clinical trials of cancer immunotherapy using exogenously antigen-exposed DCs. We begin with a short review of general properties and considerations in the design of such vaccines. We then review trials by disease type. Despite great efforts on the part of individual investigative groups, most trials to date have not yielded data from which firm conclusions can be drawn. The reasons for this include nonstandard DC preparation and vaccination protocols, use of different antigen preparations, variable means of immune assessment, and nonrigorous criteria for defining clinical response. While extensive animal studies have been conducted using DCs, optimal parameters in humans remain to be established. Unanswered questions include optimal cell dose, use of mature versus immature DCs for vaccination, optimal antigen preparation, optimal route, and optimal means of assessing immune response. It is critical that these questions be answered, as DC therapy is labor- and resource-intensive. Cooperation is needed on the part of the many investigators in the field to address these issues. If such cooperation is not forthcoming, the critical studies that will be required to make DC therapy a clinically and commercially viable enterprise will not take place, and this therapy, so promising in preclinical studies, will not be able to compete with the many other new approaches to cancer therapy presently in development. Trials published in print through June 2003 are included. We exclude single case reports, except where relevant, and trials with so many variables as to prevent interpretation about DC therapy effects.     

The performance and perspectives of dendritic cell vaccines modified by immune checkpoint inhibitors or stimulants

Therapeutic dendritic cell (DC) vaccines stimulate the elimination of tumor cells by the immune system. However, while antigen-specific T cell responses induced by DC vaccines are commonly observed, the clinical response rate is relatively poor, necessitating vaccine optimization. There is evidence that the suppression of DC function by immune checkpoints hinders the anti-tumor immune responses mediated by DC vaccines, ultimately leading to the immune escape of the tumor cells. The use of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) and immune checkpoint activators (ICAs) has extended the immunotherapeutic range. It is known that both inhibitory and stimulatory checkpoint molecules are expressed by most DC subsets and can thus be used to manipulate the effectiveness of DC vaccines. Such manipulation has been investigated using strategies such as chemotherapy, agonistic or antagonistic antibodies, siRNA, shRNA, CRISPR-Cas9, soluble antibodies, lentiviruses, and adenoviruses to maximize the efficacy of DC vaccines. Thus, a deeper understanding of immune checkpoints may assist in the development of improved DC vaccines. Here, we review the actions of various ICIs or ICAs shown by preclinical studies, as well as their potential application in DC vaccines. New therapeutic interventional strategies for blocking and stimulating immune checkpoint molecules in DCs are also described in detail.     

Standardized generation of fully mature p70 IL-12 secreting monocyte-derived dendritic cells for clinical use

Dendritic cells (DC) have been shown to be efficient antigen-presenting cells (APC) and, as such, could be considered ideal candidates for cancer immunotherapy. Immature DC (iDC) efficiently capture surrounding antigens; however, only mature DC (mDC) prime naive T lymphocytes. Clinical trials using DC-based tumor vaccines have achieved encouraging, but limited, success, possibly due to the use of immature or incompletely mature DC. Thus, it was apparent that a method capable of generating large numbers of fully functional iDC, their pulsing with desired form of tumor antigens and the subsequent complete and reproducible maturation of iDC is needed. Therefore, we compared two different methods of producing large numbers of iDC. Both protocols yielded comparable numbers of cells with an iDC phenotype with phagocytic function. We next determined which of the clinically applicable activators could induce the complete and reproducible maturation of DC, in order to define the most suitable combination for future clinical trials. Only a combination of TNFalpha + Poly (I:C), or a previously described cytokine cocktail of TNFalpha + IL-1beta + IL-6 + prostaglandin E2, induced the complete activation of the whole DC population, as assessed by the cell surface expression of CD83 and costimulatory molecules. The matured DC were functionally superior to iDC in their ability to stimulate the proliferation of allogeneic lymphocytes and autologous keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH)-specific T lymphocytes. Furthermore, only the combination of TNFalpha + Poly (L:C) activated DC to produce large amounts of biologically active p70 IL-12. Thus DC maturation by TNFalpha + Poly (I:C) could efficiently bias T cell response towards Th1 response. Implementation of our results into clinical protocols used for DC generation could be beneficial for future immunotherapy trials.     

Empowering dendritic cell cancer vaccination: the role of combinatorial strategies

Dendritic cells (DCs) are bone marrow–derived immune cells that play a crucial role in inducing the adaptive immunity and supporting the innate immune response independently from T cells. In the last decade, DCs have become a hopeful instrument for cancer vaccines that aims at re-educating the immune system, leading to a potent anti-cancer immune response able to overcome the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME). Although several studies have indicated that DC-based vaccines are feasible and safe, the clinical advantages of DC vaccination as monotherapy for most of the neoplasms remain a distant target. Recently, many reports and clinical trials have widely used innovative combinatorial therapeutic strategies to normalize the immune function in the TME and synergistically enhance DC function. This review will describe the most relevant and updated evidence of the anti-cancer combinatorial approaches to boost the clinical potency of DC-based vaccines.