Frontiers in Immunology (Jun 2024)

Dendritic cell subsets and implications for cancer immunotherapy

  • Michael Y. Chen,
  • Felicia Zhang,
  • Simon Peter Goedegebuure,
  • Simon Peter Goedegebuure,
  • William E. Gillanders,
  • William E. Gillanders

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2024.1393451
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 15

Abstract

Read online

Dendritic cells (DCs) play a central role in the orchestration of effective T cell responses against tumors. However, their functional behavior is context-dependent. DC type, transcriptional program, location, intratumoral factors, and inflammatory milieu all impact DCs with regard to promoting or inhibiting tumor immunity. The following review introduces important facets of DC function, and how subset and phenotype can affect the interplay of DCs with other factors in the tumor microenvironment. It will also discuss how current cancer treatment relies on DC function, and survey the myriad ways with which immune therapy can more directly harness DCs to enact antitumor cytotoxicity.

Keywords