Cell therapy using tolerogenic dendritic cells in transplantation

Organ transplantation is the main alternative to the loss of vital organ function from various diseases. However, to avoid graft rejection, transplant patients are treated with immunosuppressive drugs that have adverse side effects. A new emerging approach to reduce the administration of immunosuppressive drugs is to co-treat patients with cell therapy using regulatory cells. In our laboratory, as part of a European project, we plan to test the safety of tolerogenic dendritic cell (TolDC) therapy in kidney transplant patients. In this mini-review, we provide a brief summary of the major protocols used to derive human TolDC, and then focus on the granulocyte macrophage-TolDC generated by our own team. Proof of safety of TolDC therapy in the clinic has already been demonstrated in patients with diabetes. However, in transplantation, DC therapy will be associated with the administration of immunosuppressive drugs, and interactions between drugs and DC are possible. Finally, we will discuss the issue of DC origin, as we believe that administration of autologous TolDC is more appropriate, as demonstrated by our experiments in animal models.