Antitumor immune responses mediated by dendritic cells: How signals derived from dying cancer cells drive antigen cross-presentation.

摘要

Dendritic cells (DCs) are essential for the induction of adaptive immuneresponses against malignant cells by virtue of their capacity to effectivelycross-present exogenous antigens to T lymphocytes. Dying cancer cells are indeed a rich source of antigens that may be harnessed for the development of DC-basedvaccines. In particular, malignant cells succumbing to apoptosis, rather thannecrosis, appear to release antigens in a manner that allows for the elicitation of adaptive immune responses. In this review, we describe the processes thatmediate the cross-presentation of antigens released by apoptotic cancer cells to CD8(+) T lymphocytes, resulting in the activation of protective tumor-specificimmune responses.