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Updated: Jul 9, 2025

Generation of a Novel Dendritic-cell Vaccine Using Melanoma and Squamous Cancer Stem Cells
Published on: January 6, 2014
Antigen cross-presentation by dendritic cells: A critical axis in cancer immunotherapy
Christine Moussion1, Lélia Delamarre1
1Cancer Immunology, Genentech, South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA.
Abstract:
Dendritic cells (DCs) are professional antigen-presenting cells that play a key role in shaping adaptive immunity. DCs have a unique ability to sample their environment, capture and process exogenous antigens into peptides that are then loaded onto major histocompatibility complex class I molecules for presentation to CD8+ T cells. This process, called cross-presentation, is essential for initiating and regulating CD8+ T cell responses against tumors and intracellular pathogens. In this review, we will discuss the role of DCs in cancer immunity, the molecular mechanisms underlying antigen cross-presentation by DCs, the immunosuppressive factors that limit the efficiency of this process in cancer, and approaches to overcome DC dysfunction and therapeutically promote antitumoral immunity.
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