Dendritic cell-based vaccines, a promising prospect for ending AIDS and eradication of HIV worldwide: A narrative review on the latest updates.

Significant challenges are presented as a result of the ongoing HIV/AIDS pandemic, particularly given the ongoing burden of new infections and the lack of a proven treatment. Among other approaches, vaccinations based on Dendritic Cells (DCs) have become a viable tactic in the fight against HIV. These vaccines take advantage of DCs' special capacity to deliver antigens, which makes them crucial mediators between innate and adaptive immune responses. DC-based vaccines seek to offer a prolonged and effective protection against the virus by stimulating immunological responses against HIV-infected cells and activating cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs). This narrative review highlights the recent advancements in DC-based vaccine development for HIV/AIDS. It explores various vaccine strategies, including DC/SHIV fusion vaccines, peptide-pulsed DC vaccines, mRNA-based DC vaccines, and lentiviral vector-modified DC vaccines. These methods have shown promise in preclinical and clinical trials by eliciting strong immune responses, especially by activating HIV-specific T cells and modulating immune checkpoints like PD-1/PD-L1 and CTLA-4. The review emphasizes how these vaccines can enhance immune responses, reduce viral load, and potentially contribute to a functional cure for HIV. This study aims to offer a thorough update on the process and obstacles in DC-based vaccine development for HIV/AIDS. This review also addresses clinical trials and future directions for optimizing these vaccines' safety, efficacy, and scalability for global application. Through an in-depth analysis of the mechanisms, clinical outcomes, and potential of DC-based vaccines, this paper underscores their promising prospects as an essential element of a comprehensive HIV eradication strategy worldwide.