Dendritic Cell Immune Therapy to Break or Induce Tolerance

Abstract

Dendritic cells (DCs) represent the key regulator of the immune system. The particular milieu in which DCs encounter the antigen together with their intrinsic properties defines their ability to promote an active or a tolerogenic immune response. The development of protocols to differentiate in vitro immunogenic or tolerogenic DCs opened the possibility to employ them as cell therapy in a list of immune-mediated diseases. While a number of clinical trials with immunogenic DCs have proven the safety and the efficacy of the therapy, only few studies have been performed with tolerogenic DCs. In this review, we will discuss major obstacles encountered, and strategies applied, to improve the efficacy of DC-based immunotherapies including lentiviral vector-based approaches.