Thomas E Starzl Transplantation Institute and Department of Surgery, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
Expert Rev Clin Immunol. 2005 Sep;1(3):419-30. doi: 10.1586/1744666X.1.3.419.
Dendritic cells are uniquely well-equipped for antigen capture, processing and presentation. They are highly-efficient antigen-presenting cells that induce and regulate T-cell reactivity. Due to their inherent tolerogenicity, immature dendritic cells offer considerable potential as candidate cellular vaccines for negative regulation of immune reactivity/promotion of tolerance. Both classic myeloid and, more recently, characterized plasmacytoid dendritic cells, exhibit tolerogenic properties. Manipulation of dendritic cells differentiation/ maturation in the laboratory using cytokines, pharmacologic agents or genetic engineering approaches can render stably immature dendritic cells that promote organ transplant tolerance in rodents. There are also indications from human studies of the ability of dendritic cells to promote T-cell tolerance and induce T-regulatory cells, with potential for therapeutic application in organ transplantation. In addition, recent clinical observations suggest that modulation of dendritic cell function (e.g., by immunosuppressive drugs) affects the outcome of transplantation. The challenge confronting applied dendritic cell biology is the identification of optimal strategies and therapeutic regimens to allow the potential of these powerful immune regulatory cells to be realized in the clinic.
树突状细胞在抗原捕获、加工和呈递方面具有独特的优势。它们是高效的抗原呈递细胞，能够诱导和调节 T 细胞反应。由于其固有的耐受性，未成熟的树突状细胞具有作为候选细胞疫苗的巨大潜力，可用于负调节免疫反应/促进耐受。经典的髓样树突状细胞和最近被描述的浆细胞样树突状细胞都表现出耐受特性。在实验室中使用细胞因子、药物或基因工程方法操纵树突状细胞的分化/成熟，可以使稳定的未成熟树突状细胞在啮齿动物中促进器官移植耐受。来自人类研究的一些迹象表明，树突状细胞具有促进 T 细胞耐受和诱导 T 调节细胞的能力，这可能为器官移植的治疗应用提供了潜力。此外，最近的临床观察表明，树突状细胞功能的调节（例如，通过免疫抑制药物）会影响移植的结果。应用树突状细胞生物学面临的挑战是确定最佳策略和治疗方案，以使这些强大的免疫调节细胞的潜力在临床上得到实现。
