MHC-dressing on dendritic cells: Boosting anti-tumor immunity via unconventional tumor antigen presentation

Dendritic cells are crucial for anti-tumor immune responses due to their ability to activate cytotoxic effector CD8⁺ T cells. Canonically, in anti-tumor immunity, dendritic cells activate CD8⁺ T cells in a process termed cross-presentation. Recent studies have demonstrated that another type of antigen presentation, MHC-dressing, also serves to activate CD8⁺ T cells against tumor cell-derived antigens. Understanding MHC-dressing's specific contributions to anti-tumor immunity can open up novel therapeutic avenues. In this review, we summarize the early studies that identified MHC-dressing as a relevant antigen presentation pathway before diving into a deeper discussion of the biology of MHC-dressing, focusing in particular on which dendritic cell subsets are most capable of performing MHC-dressing and how MHC-dressing compares to other forms of antigen presentation. We conclude by discussing the implications MHC-dressing has for anti-tumor immunity.