Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Nevada School of Medicine, University of Nevada, Reno, NV, USA; Institute of Fundamental Medicine and Biology, Kazan Federal University, Kazan, Republic of Tatarstan, Russian Federation.
Eur J Clin Invest. 2015 Jan;45 Suppl 1:1-8. doi: 10.1111/eci.12363.
Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) are multifunctional bone-marrow-derived immune cells that are key players in bridging the innate and adaptive immune systems. Activation of pDCs through toll-like receptor agonists has proven to be an effective treatment for some neoplastic disorders.
In this mini-review, we will explore the fascinating contribution of pDCs to neoplastic pathology and discuss their potential utilization in cancer immunotherapy.
Current research suggests that pDCs have cytotoxic potential and can effectively induce apoptosis of tumour-derived cells lines. They are also reported to display tolerogenic function with the ability to suppress T-cell proliferation, analogous to regulatory T cells. In this capacity, they are critical in the suppression of autoimmunity but can be exploited by tumour cells to circumvent the expansion of tumour-specific T cells, thereby allowing tumours to persist.
Several forms of skin cancer are successfully treated with the topical drug Imiquimod, which activates pDCs through toll-like receptor 7 engagement. Additionally, pDC-based anticancer vaccines have shown encouraging results for the treatment of melanoma in early trials. Future studies regarding the contributions of pDCs to malignancy will likely afford many opportunities for immunotherapy strategies.
浆细胞样树突状细胞（pDCs）是多功能骨髓来源的免疫细胞，是连接先天和适应性免疫系统的关键因素。通过 Toll 样受体激动剂激活 pDCs 已被证明是治疗某些肿瘤疾病的有效方法。
在这篇迷你综述中，我们将探讨 pDCs 对肿瘤病理学的迷人贡献，并讨论它们在癌症免疫治疗中的潜在应用。
目前的研究表明，pDCs 具有细胞毒性潜力，可以有效诱导肿瘤细胞系凋亡。它们还具有耐受性功能，可以抑制 T 细胞增殖，类似于调节性 T 细胞。在这种情况下，它们在抑制自身免疫中至关重要，但也可以被肿瘤细胞利用来规避肿瘤特异性 T 细胞的扩增，从而使肿瘤得以持续存在。
几种皮肤癌可以通过局部药物咪喹莫特成功治疗，咪喹莫特通过 Toll 样受体 7 结合激活 pDCs。此外，基于 pDC 的抗癌疫苗在早期试验中对黑色素瘤的治疗显示出令人鼓舞的结果。未来关于 pDCs 对恶性肿瘤的贡献的研究可能会为免疫治疗策略提供许多机会。
