Immune regulation by dendritic cells and T cells--basic science, diagnostic, and clinical application

Dendritic cells (DC) are professional antigen-presenting cells defined by their ability to transport incoming infectious signals from the periphery to T cell areas in lymphoid organs and by their unique properties to induce primary T cell activation. As sentinels of immunity DC play a critical role in the initiation of immune responses. Thus, they are key targets in antigen-specific immunotherapeutic strategies for cancer. However, beside this essential immunostimulatory function in the immune system, DC also play an important role in the maintenance of peripheral tolerance. Dependent on subtype and mode of activation, tissue resident immature DC differentiate into immunostimulatory or immunosuppressive antigen-presenting cells with a strong capacity to activate or to inhibit T cell responses, respectively. This review summarizes our current knowledge about the complex interaction between DC and T cells considering both--immunity and tolerance--as well as the possibilities to use this knowledge for development of novel diagnostic and immunotherapeutic strategies to treat immune-imbalanced human diseases such as cancer, allergy, and autoimmunity.