The ultimate goal of tumor immunotherapy is the eradication of tumor cells by the immune system. Both innate and adaptive immune responses can contribute to the elimination of tumor cells, with natural killer (NK) cells and T lymphocytes as pivotal players, respectively. Dendritic cells (DC) are the most professional antigen-presenting cells of the immune system, bridging innate and adaptive immune responses through interaction with NK cells and presenting tumor-associated antigens to T cells. A major hurdle in anti-tumor immunity, however, is the low immunogenicity and immunosuppressive...

During the past 10 years, important progress has been made in the field of immunology, leading to a better notion of the relationship between the immune system and disease. While new immunotherapeutic efforts pave the way for the treatment of old diseases, understanding the biology, function and mechanisms of immune cell populations is of utmost concern for the development and optimisation of cellular immune therapies for the induction of effective immune responses in cancer and chronic infections on the one hand, and for the induction of T cell tolerance in autoimmune disorders...