The plasticity and potential of leukemia cell lines to differentiate into dendritic cells

Dendritic cells (DCs) are potent antigen-presenting cells that orchestrate the innate and adaptive immune systems to induce immunity. DCs are significant in maintaining immune tolerance towards self-antigens, organ transplantation and allergic responses. DCs are powerful adjuvants for eliciting T-cell immunity and are therefore considered primary targets for inducing immune responses in the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases and cancer. DCs have been increasingly applied in the immunotherapy of cancer worldwide during the last decade; however, a number of the highly specialized biological characteristics of DCs remain to be elucidated. Previous studies of human DCs have been constrained by certain difficulties, therefore the majority of studies have been carried out using in vitro model systems. Suitable cell lines with dendritic-like properties may provide valuable tools for the study of DC physiology and pathology. In the current review, various human DC line differentiation models are discussed. Certain cell lines provide valuable tools for studying the specific aspects of DC biology, despite variations in cell biological and immunological features when compared with primary DCs.