Uptake of HER2 antigen by Dendritic Cells:Technical approaches in cancer immunotherapy

Dendritic cells (DCs) of the immune system are the most professional antigen presenting cells (APCs), which are effective in processing and presenting of an antigen (Ag) to the T lymphocytes. The effective immune responses are relied on antigen presentation as a fundamental process for the function of the immune system. Recently, the immunotherapeutic studies have focussed on using DCs for vaccination of cancer patient based on the immunogenicity of the antigen delivered by DCs that have been isolated from the blood of that patient. Hence, DCs were used in this study to demonstrate the antigen uptake. This study is a technical work aiming to explore the uptake of breast tumour antigen (HER2) by DCs. The cryopreserved peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were purchased from a cell company to generate DCs. Expression of the major histocompatibility (MHC) molecules (i.e., HLA-A,B,C and HLA-DR) and cell surface receptors (i.e., CD86 and CD11c) on the cell surface of the newly generated DCs were determined. Then, DCs were examined for Ag uptake. The preliminary results demonstrated high expression of MHC molecules and the cell surface receptors and the uptake of HER2 antigen by DCs. This work may give an insight into understanding the mechanism of presentation of HER2 antigen to helper (CD4+) T cells. This kind of research would aid in designing and engineering of cancer vaccines and should be validated in vivo using animal model. Keywords: Dendritic cells ; cancer vaccines ; HER2 antigen, immunotherapy; breast cancer