title: A simple in vitro method for evaluating dendritic cell-based vaccinations.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Dendritic cell (DC) therapy is a promising therapy for cancer-targeting treatments. Recently, DCs have been used for treatment of some cancers. We aimed to develop an in vitro assay to evaluate DC therapy in cancer treatment using a breast cancer model.
  
  
  METHODS
  DCs were induced from murine bone marrow mononuclear cells in Roswell Park Memorial Institute (RPMI) 1640 medium supplemented with GM-CSF (20 ng/mL) and IL-4 (20 ng/mL). Immature DCs were primed with breast cancer stem cell (BCSC)-derived antigens. BCSCs were sorted from 4T1 cell lines based on aldehyde dehydrogenase expression. A mixture of DCs and cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) were used to evaluate the inhibitory effect of antigen-primed DCs on BCSCs. BCSC proliferation and doubling time were recorded based on impedance-based cell analysis using the xCELLigence system. The specification of inhibitory effects of DCs and CTLs was also evaluated using the same system.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results showed that impedance-based analysis of BCSCs reflected cytotoxicity and inhibitory effects of DCs and CTLs at 72 hours. Differences in ratios of DC:CTL changed the cytotoxicity of DCs and CTLs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study successfully used impedance-based cell analysis as a new in vitro assay to evaluate DC efficacy in cancer immunotherapy. We hope this technique will contribute to the development and improvement of immunotherapies in the near future.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Stem Cell Research and Application, University of Science, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
authors.forename: Phuc Van
authors.initials: PV
authors.lastname: Pham
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Stem Cell Research and Application, University of Science, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
authors.forename: Nhung Thi
authors.initials: NT
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Stem Cell Research and Application, University of Science, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
authors.forename: Hoang Minh
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Stem Cell Research and Application, University of Science, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
authors.forename: Lam Tan
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Khuat
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Stem Cell Research and Application, University of Science, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
authors.forename: Phong Minh
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Le
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Stem Cell Research and Application, University of Science, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
authors.forename: Viet Quoc
authors.initials: VQ
authors.lastname: Pham
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Stem Cell Research and Application, University of Science, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
authors.forename: Sinh Truong
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Stem Cell Research and Application, University of Science, Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
authors.forename: Ngoc Kim
authors.initials: NK
authors.lastname: Phan
keywords: CTLs; cytotoxicity assay; dendritic cells; immunotherapy; targeting therapy