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Updated: Aug 13, 2026

Generation of a Novel Dendritic-cell Vaccine Using Melanoma and Squamous Cancer Stem Cells
Published on: January 6, 2014
A novel dendritic cell subset involved in tumor immunosurveillance
Julien Taieb1, Nathalie Chaput, Cédric Ménard
1ERM0208 INSERM, Faculté de Médecine Kremlin Bicêtre, Institut Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France.
Abstract:
The interferon (IFN)-gamma-induced TRAIL effector mechanism is a vital component of cancer immunosurveillance by natural killer (NK) cells in mice. Here we show that the main source of IFN-gamma is not the conventional NK cell but a subset of B220(+)Ly6C(-) dendritic cells, which are atypical insofar as they express NK cell-surface molecules. Upon contact with a variety of tumor cells that are poorly recognized by NK cells, B220(+)NK1.1(+) dendritic cells secrete high levels of IFN-gamma and mediate TRAIL-dependent lysis of tumor cells. Adoptive transfer of these IFN-producing killer dendritic cells (IKDCs) into tumor-bearing Rag2(-/-)Il2rg(-/-) mice prevented tumor outgrowth, whereas transfer of conventional NK cells did not. In conclusion, we identified IKDCs as pivotal sensors and effectors of the innate antitumor immune response.
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