T regulatory cell depletion can boost DC-based vaccines

Abstract

Dendritic cells loaded with tumor antigen have been proposed as effective therapeutic vaccines in different tumor models. Now, in the Journal of Immunology 2005; 174: 90-98, a study by Prasad et al., report that depletion of regulatory T cells prior to immunization can enhance the potency of DC-based vaccines without inducing autoimmune responses in a mouse model of melanoma. This vaccination strategy can be readily applied to general therapeutic vaccination settings.