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Invariant natural killer T cells (iNKT) and dendritic cells (DC) play a central role in tumor immunity through downstream activation of immune effector cells by pro-inflammatory cytokines. Evidence is accumulating that the CD1d-iNKT cell axis can be effectively used to potentiate DC-based cancer vaccines. Here, we provide a detailed methodology for the generation of (CD1d-expressing) monocyte-derived DC (moDC) and their subsequent loading with the iNKT cell agonist α-galactosylceramide (α-GalCer) or their direct ligation by agonistic anti-CD1d monoclonal antibodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dendritic cells (DCs) have become the "bright new hope" of immunotherapists. DCs are the most powerful antigen-presenting cells (APCs) identified to date, with the unique ability to prime naïve T cells and thus initiate immune responses. Essentially, they provide the crucial link between the innate and the adaptive immune system and as such have proven to be operating at the most fundamental levels of regulation in numerous immune processes (1,2). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]