Dendritic Cells and the Initiation of Adaptive Immunity (J7) 2011

Current studies of Dendritic Cells (DCs) have confirmed not only their major role as antigen presenting cells in adaptive immunity but also their important functions in maintaining tolerance and in the initiation of the innate resistance and inflammatory responses. Thus, DCs function as an important bridge between innate resistance and adaptive immunity either through cellular interactions or secretion of pro-inflammatory and immunoregulatory cytokines. The origin and migration pattern of DCs, their cell biological mechanisms of action, their functional diversity, their specializations and activities in specific tissue contexts, as well as their sharing of hematopoietic lineages, functions, and receptors with other phagocytic cell types such as monocytes and macrophages are subjects of intense investigation. Increasingly, the role of dendritic cells in disease pathology and as potential therapeutic targets is being explored both in the laboratory and in the clinic. This is particularly true in human cancer, where both active and passive immunotherapies involving dendritic cells are finally being put to the test in a systematic fashion. In this symposium, each of these aspects of dendritic cell biology and immunological function will be explored in detail, including taking a number of in depth looks at functions (such as innate activation mechanisms) that are key to understanding how dendritic cells perform their many remarkable tasks. In addition, this symposium will combine and synergize with a second, jointly organized symposium entitled `Cancer Control by Tumor Suppressors and Immune Effectors`, thereby emphasizing emerging concepts concerning the role of the immune response in cancer and cancer therapy.