Prolonged antigen storage endows merocytic dendritic cells with enhanced capacity to prime anti-tumor responses in tumor-bearing mice.

ABSTRACT: Tumor cell vaccination with irradiated autologous tumor cells is a promising approach to activate tumor-specific T cell responses without the need for tumor Ag identification. However, uptake of dying cells by dendritic cells (DCs) is generally a noninflammatory or tolerizing event to prevent the development of autoreactive immune responses. In this study, we describe the mechanisms that confer the potent T cell priming capacity of a recently identified a population of DCs (merocytic DCs [mcDCs]) that potently primes both CD8(+) and CD4(+) T cells to cell-associated Ags upon uptake of apoptotic cells. mcDCs acquired cell-associated materials through a process of merocytosis that is defined by the uptake of small particles that are stored in nonacidic compartments for prolonged periods, sus

SUBMITTER: Reboulet RA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3021914 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature