Dendritic cells in cancer immunotherapy - a short review

Dendritic cells (DCs) are rare leukocytes that are uniquely potent in their recent application to therapeutic cancer vaccines. Isolated DCs loaded with tumour antigen ex vivo and administered as a cellular vaccine have been found to induce protective and therapeutic anti-tumour immunity. In the present report we describe the most common methods of culturing DCs and delivering tumour antigens and we summarise clinical trials of cancer immunotherapy using DCs-based vaccines

Dendritic cells in peripheral blood of patients with breast and lung cancer--a pilot study.

Dendritic cells (DCs) are regarded as the most potent antigen presenting cells that are well suited to activate T cells toward various antigens, such as tumor-associated antigens, due to their costimulatory activity. There is evidence that DCs are of diverse origin, with at least two types of myeloid and lymphoid precursors implicated in their generation. The recent reports demonstrated that the number and function of dendritic cells might change dramatically in cancer patients. In the present study we evaluated the percentage of myeloid and lymphoid DCs in patients with breast cancer, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and in the healthy donors. The percentage of both DC populations was significantly lower in patients with NSCLC than in the control group. In patients with breast cancer, the number of lymphoid DCs was significantly higher than in NSCLC patients. The obtained results suggest influence of pathological states on host immune system. The decrease in the number of DCs in the peripheral blood from cancer patients may be closely correlated with the type of tumour

Generation of dendritic cells from human peripheral blood monocytes - comparison of different culture media

Culture medium or medium supplement is one of the factors responsible for dendritic cell (DC) generation, but little is known about the influence of various media on DC culture. In our study we generated DC from adherent monocytes of human peripheral blood in the presence of GM-CSF, IL-4 and TNF-α. The following culture media were used: RPMI 1640 supplemented with 2% human serum albumin; RPMI 1640 supplemented with 2% TCH serum replacement; X-VIVO 15 and Panserin 501. Flow cytometry analysis revealed that in all media cells were CD83+ and lost CD14. Interestingly, the use of Panserin and RPMI with albumin preferentially gave rise to CD1a+ DC, whereas in X-VIVO and RPMI with TCH we observed both CD1a+ and CD1a-. Our results showed that RPMI with TCH yielded the highest percentage of cells expressing both CD80 and CD86 molecules and, in contrast to other media, the higher percentage of CD86+ cells in comparison to CD80+ cells

Identification of dendritic cells in the blood and synovial fluid of children with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis

Childhood chronic arthritis of unknown etiology is known collectively as juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and consists of heterogeneous subtypes with unique clinical patterns of disease. JIA is the commonest rheumatic disease in children and may still result in significant disability, with joint deformity, growth impairment, and persistence of active arthritis into adulthood. Basic research is rather focused on rheumatoid arthritis, and this lead to small number of publications considering JIA. In this study we examine, by flow cytometry, the expression of dendritic cells (DCs) in the peripheral blood and synovial fluid of children with active JIA in a group of 220 patients. We reveal a significant decrease in the percentage of immature DCs in the blood of patients compared to control children. Surprisingly, we found higher percentages of mature circulating dendritic cells. Both populations of DCs, immature and mature, were accumulated in patients’ synovial fluid. We also confirmed the presence of CD206+/CD209+ in JIA samples, which can represent a population of macrophages with dendritic cells morphology. Our results support the thesis that dendritic cells are crucial in the induction and maintenance of autoimmune response and local inflammation during juvenile idiopathic arthritis. (Folia Histochemica et Cytobiologica 2011; Vol. 49, No. 1, pp. 188–199

Cellular Flow Cytometric Studies

This review focuses on flow cytometric studies at the single cell level. Currently, flow cytometry is used to analyze DNA content, cell cycle distribution, cellular viability, apoptosis, calcium flux, intracellular pH and expression of cell surface compounds in targeted cell populations. Our criteria for the selection of research papers for this review were focused on those that show current cellular applications of flow cytometry

Dendritic cells in peripheral blood of patients with breast and lung cancer--a pilot study.

Dendritic cells (DCs) are regarded as the most potent antigen presenting cells that are well suited to activate T cells toward various antigens, such as tumor-associated antigens, due to their costimulatory activity. There is evidence that DCs are of diverse origin, with at least two types of myeloid and lymphoid precursors implicated in their generation. The recent reports demonstrated that the number and function of dendritic cells might change dramatically in cancer patients. In the present study we evaluated the percentage of myeloid and lymphoid DCs in patients with breast cancer, non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and in the healthy donors. The percentage of both DC populations was significantly lower in patients with NSCLC than in the control group. In patients with breast cancer, the number of lymphoid DCs was significantly higher than in NSCLC patients. The obtained results suggest influence of pathological states on host immune system. The decrease in the number of DCs in the peripheral blood from cancer patients may be closely correlated with the type of tumour

SCID mice model in vivo evaluation of autologous and allogeneic dendritic cells activity on B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

In the present study we investigated in vivo therapeutic potential of DCs vaccines in B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (B-CLL). On the day 0 the SCID mice were intraperitoneally inoculated with peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of B-CLL patients at a dose of 10-30 x 10(6) and left untreated (controls) or i.p. injected on the day 7 with 0.2 - 14.0 x 10(6) dendritic cells. DCs were generated in vitro from peripheral blood monocytes of B-CLL donors (autologous DCs) or healthy donors (allogeneic cells) and pulsed with B-CLL antigens. On the day 14, the effect of implanted cells interactions was evaluated by a counting of CD19+CD5+ human leukemic cells and human T cells in the peritoneal fluid of mice. We found, that mean numbers of CD19+CD5+ leukemic cells as well as human T cells were lowered in peritoneal fluid of mice treated with allogeneic APCs. However, we did not observe similar effects with autologous DCs

Bioleptin as a useful marker of metabolic status in children with diabetes mellitus type 1

IntroductionThe purpose of our study was tomeasure the level of leptin and biologically active leptin (bioLEP) in children with type 1 diabetes, depending on the duration of diabetes and its degree of metabolic control.MethodsThe study included 94 children (58 boys and 36 girls). In a group of children with diabetes, 40 patients were newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, 40 children who have diabetes for more than a year (20 with good metabolic control and 20 with poor metabolic control). The control group consisted of 14 healthy children. The serum level of leptin and bioLEP was measured using a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. To our knowledge, this is the first study to describe bioLEP levels among diabetic children with different forms of disease control.ResultsLower levels of leptin were found in children with diabetes compared to healthy children. Furthermore, we found a statistically higher concentration of leptin in the group of children with newly diagnosed diabetes compared to children from the diabetic group with poor metabolic control and lower than healthy children (11.19 vs. 7.84 and 20.94 ng/mL). Moreover, children in the metabolically well-controlled group had statistically lower levels of this hormone (5.11 ng/mL) than healthy children. Leptin concentrations differed significantly between underweight, overweight, and obese children.DiscussionIn our study, the level of bioLEP differed significantly between children in the newly diagnosed diabetes group and children in the long-term, poorly controlled diabetes group and healthy controls. Despite many studies published in recent years, many aspects of leptin secretion, action, and mechanisms of its influence on carbohydrate and fat metabolism are still to be clarified. In our opinion, studies evaluating the status of bioLEP in diabetes can also contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms regulating metabolism