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Updated: Jun 4, 2026

In Vivo Augmentation of Gut-Homing Regulatory T Cell Induction
Published on: January 22, 2020
[Dendritic cells: a new horizon in cell therapy for inflammatory bowel disease?]
Elena Ricart1, Julián Panés, Daniel Benítez-Ribas
1Servicio de Gastroenterología, Hospital Clínic, Barcelona, España. ERICART@clinic.ub.es
Abstract:
Autoimmune diseases, or immune-mediated diseases, are characterized by loss of tolerance to autoantigens and immune system activation causing damage to one or multiple organs. The mechanisms through which this abnormal immune response is started and maintained are not fully established. The therapeutic approach to these diseases is generally based on corticosteroids, immunomodulators, and monoclonal antibodies. Given the exceptional capacity of dendritic cells to induce immunogenicity, early results in humans for the treatment of tumors (melanoma) or infections (HIV) with immunogenic dendritic cells have recently been obtained. Identification of dendritic cells with tolerogenic capacity and the results in experimental models of autoimmune diseases (autoimmune encephalomyelitis, diabetes mellitus, colitis) suggests that treatment with tolerogenic dendritic cells could be a beneficial therapeutic alternative in the treatment of autoimmune diseases or immune-mediated diseases such as Crohn's disease.
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