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ABSTRACT
Dendritic cells (DCs) are known to be a set of morphology, structure and function of heterogeneous professional antigen presenting cells (APCs), as well as the strongest functional antigen presenting cells, which can absorb, process and present antigens. As the key regulators of innate and adaptive immune responses, DCs are at the center of the immune system and capable of interacting with both B cells and T cells, thereby manipulating the humoral and cellular immune responses. DCs provide an essential link between the innate and adaptive immunity, and the strong immune activation function of DCs and their properties of natural adjuvants, make them a valuable target for antigen delivery. Targeting antigens to DC-specific endocytic receptors in combination with the relevant antibodies or ligands along with immunostimulatory adjuvants has been recently recognized as a promising strategy for designing an effective vaccine that elicits a strong and durable T cell response against intracellular pathogens and cancer. This opinion article provides a brief summary of the rationales, superiorities and challenges of existing DC-targeting approaches.
Funding
This study was financially supported by the Chinese “863” National Programs for High Technology Research and Development (Grant No.: 2011AA10A211), the National Pig Industrial System (CARS-36–06B), and the Special Fund for Agro-scientific Research in the Public Interest (201203039).
Abbreviations
| DCs | = | Dendritic cells |
| APCs | = | antigen presenting cells |
| MHC | = | major histocompatibility complex |
| BCR | = | B cell receptor |
| Th | = | Helper T |
| TCR | = | T cell receptor |
| IL | = | interleukin |
| Ag | = | antigen |
| Ab | = | antibody |
| CTL | = | Cytotoxic T lymphocyte |
| TNF | = | tumor necrosis factor |
| IFN | = | interferon |
| PBMC | = | peripheral blood mononuclear cells |
| GM-CSF | = | granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor |
| PRRs | = | pattern recognition receptors |
| PRMs | = | pattern recognition moleculars |
| PAMPs | = | pathogen associated molecular patterns |
| TLRs | = | Toll-like receptors |
| NLRs | = | Nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptors |
| RLRs | = | Retinoic acid-inducible gene-like helicases receptors |
| CLRs | = | C-type lectin receptors |
| DC-SIGN | = | DC specific ICAM grabbing non-integrin |
| CRDs | = | carbohydrate recognition domains |
| HSP | = | heat shock protin |
| OVA | = | ovalbumin |
| NPs | = | Nanoparticles |
| ISCOMs | = | immune stimulating complexes |
| PLGA | = | poly-lactic-co-glycolic acid |
| MR | = | mannose receptor |
Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest
The authors declare they have no competing interests.