title: Dendritic Cells in the Context of Human Tumors: Biology and Experimental Tools.
abstract: Dendritic cells (DC) are the most potent and versatile antigen-presenting cells (APC) in the immune system. DC have an exceptional ability to comprehend the immune context of a captured antigen based on molecular signals identified from its vicinity. The analyzed information is then conveyed to other immune effector cells. Such capability enables DC to play a pivotal role in mediating either an immunogenic response or immune tolerance towards an acquired antigen. This review summarizes current knowledge on DC in the context of human tumors. It covers the basics of human DC biology, elaborating on the different markers, morphology and function of the different subsets of human DC. Human blood-borne DC are comprised of at least three subsets consisting of one plasmacytoid DC (pDC) and two to three myeloid DC (mDC) subsets. Some tissues have unique DC. Each subset has a different phenotype and function and may induce pro-tumoral or anti-tumoral effects. The review also discusses two methods fundamental to the research of DC on the single-cell level: multicolor flow cytometry (FCM) and image-based cytometry (IC). These methods, along with new genomics and proteomics tools, can provide high-resolution information on specific DC subsets and on immune and tumor cells with which they interact. The different layers of collected biological data may then be integrated using Immune-Cytomics modeling approaches. Such novel integrated approaches may help unravel the complex network of cellular interactions that DC carry out within tumors, and may help harness this complex immunological information into the development of more effective treatments for cancer.
authors.affiliation: a Cancer Immunotherapy Lab, Neurosurgery Department , Tel-Aviv Medical Center , Tel-Aviv , Israel.
authors.forename: Ilan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Volovitz
authors.affiliation: b LIFE -Leipzig Research Center for Civilization Diseases , University of Leipzig , Leipzig , Germany.|c Department of Pediatric Cardiology, Heart Center Leipzig GmbH , University of Leipzig , Leipzig , Germany.
authors.forename: Susanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Melzer
authors.affiliation: a Cancer Immunotherapy Lab, Neurosurgery Department , Tel-Aviv Medical Center , Tel-Aviv , Israel.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Amar
authors.affiliation: c Department of Pediatric Cardiology, Heart Center Leipzig GmbH , University of Leipzig , Leipzig , Germany.
authors.forename: József
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bocsi
authors.affiliation: a Cancer Immunotherapy Lab, Neurosurgery Department , Tel-Aviv Medical Center , Tel-Aviv , Israel.
authors.forename: Merav
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bloch
authors.affiliation: d Systems Biomedicine Lab , Bar Ilan University , Ramat Gan , Israel , and Translational Center for Regenerative Medicine , Universität Leipzig , Leipzig , Germany.
authors.forename: Sol
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Efroni
authors.affiliation: a Cancer Immunotherapy Lab, Neurosurgery Department , Tel-Aviv Medical Center , Tel-Aviv , Israel.
authors.forename: Zvi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Ram
authors.affiliation: c Department of Pediatric Cardiology, Heart Center Leipzig GmbH , University of Leipzig , Leipzig , Germany.|d Systems Biomedicine Lab , Bar Ilan University , Ramat Gan , Israel , and Translational Center for Regenerative Medicine , Universität Leipzig , Leipzig , Germany.
authors.forename: Attila
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tárnok
mesh_terms: D017951:Antigen Presentation; D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm / Q000276:immunology; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D007108:Immune Tolerance; D007111:Immunity, Cellular; D008954:Models, Biological; D022423:Myeloid Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D059016:Tumor Microenvironment
chemical_list: D000951:Antigens, Neoplasm
keywords: cancer biology; dendritic cells; flow cytometry; human; image cytometry; immune-cytomics; tumor microenvironment