Novel activators of dendritic cells as fundamental tools in immunotherapy

Abstract

Dendritic cells (DCs) are pivotal players in the initiation and amplification of an immune response and the stimuli able to activate these cells to become professional antigen presenting cells (APCs) form an exciting new field in immunology. This article reviews patents from the last four years which claim new dendritic cell activators and their use in immunotherapy. Some of these activators are endogenous signals, released by peripheral tissues upon stress or injury, and are responsible for the initiation of an immune response, while others are stimulatory ligands, expressed by activated immune cells, and are mediators of the amplification of the response. Furthermore, others are exogenous substances able to induce cellular stress, such as those released by invading pathogens. Many of these stimuli, which are shown to activate dendritic cells in vitro, are also proposed as adjuvants in vivo and protocols are disclosed in the patents for their use in immunotherapy. Prevention of infectious diseases, clearance of neoplasms and manipulation of immunological disorders are situations in which immunotherapeutic strategies hold promise of success. Among these strategies, both the traditional and new dendritic cell-based vaccines require adjuvants to enhance the immune response. Therefore, a better characterisation of the currently known dendritic cell activators, and the discovery of new ones, will lead to safer and more efficacious vaccines.

• activators
• adjuvants
• danger signals
• dendritic cells
• vaccines
• immunotherapy