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Created with BioRender.com [Display omitted] Cancer immunity is dependent on dynamic interactions between T cells and dendritic cells (DCs). Polymer-based nanoparticles target DC receptors to improve anticancer immune responses. In this paper, DC surface receptors and their specific coupling natural ligands and antibodies are reviewed and compared. Moreover, reaction mechanisms are described, and the synergistic effects of immune adjuvants are demonstrated. Also, extracellular-targeting antigen-delivery strategies and intracellular stimulus responses are reviewed to promote the rational design of polymer delivery systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethnopharmacological relevance Traditional Chinese herbal medicine (CHM) has a long-history for treatment of various human diseases including tumors, infection, autoimmune diseases in Asian countries, especially in China, Japan, Korea and India. CHM was traditionally used as water extracts and many Chinese herbs were considered to be good for health, which can regulate immune system to protect host from diseases. With the progress of technology, the components of CHM were identified and purified, which included polysaccharides, saponins, phenolic compounds, flavonoids and so on. Recently, accumulating evidence indicates that CHM and its components can regulate immune system through targeting dendritic cells (DCs). We hereby reviewed the immunoregulatory effects of CHM on the maturation, cytokine production and function of DCs. This should help to shed light on the potential mechanism of CHM to improve the usage and clinical efficacy of CHM. Materials and methods Literatures about the effects of CHM on DCs were searched in electronic databases such as Pubmed, Google Scholar and Scopus from 2000 to 2014. ‘CHM’, ‘DC’ or ‘immune’ were used as keywords for the searches. We only reviewed literatures published in English. Results Over 600 publications were found about ‘CHM&immune’ and around 120 literatures about ‘CHM&DC’ were selected and reviewed in this paper. All publications are backed by preclinical or clinical evidences both in vitro and in vivo . Some CHM and its components promote the maturation, pro-inflammatory cytokine production and function of DCs and as the adjuvant enhance immune responses against tumor and infection. In contrast, other CHM and its components suppress the activation status of DCs to induce regulatory T cells, inhibit allergic and inflammatory responses, ameliorate autoimmune diseases, and prolong the allograft survival. A large body of evidence shows that CHM and its components regulate the activation status of DCs through TLRs, NF-κB, MAPK signaling pathways. Conclusion This review provides useful information for understanding the mechanism of CHM on the treatment of diseases, which facilitates to improve the efficacy of CHM. Based on the immunoregulatory effects of CHM on DCs, it indicated that some CHM and its components could be use to develop adjuvant to enhance antigen-specific immune responses or tolerogenic adjuvant to generate antigen-specific immune tolerance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dendritic cells (DCs) are recognized as the sole professional antigen-presenting cells capable of priming naive T cells of the helper and cytotoxic phenotypes. This property is presently exploited with success in vaccinal strategies against pathogens or tumor cells that otherwise escape immune recognition, but the repeated infusions of ex vivo expanded and sensitized DCs are usually required to achieve protection. In this paper, we demonstrate that liposomal antigens can efficiently relay and propagate the action of DCs, inducing a strong long-term response against their associated antigen. Their effect is mainly achieved by improving the ex vivo loading of DCs and by efficiently channeling the activation stimulus into the induction of effector function. This is demonstrated by the sustained immunoglobulin production as well as by the sustained lymphoproliferation and the increased cytokine secretion that can be achieved upon restimulation of DC-primed immune cells with limited amount of liposomal antigenic material. Being well-tolerated and easily prepared, liposomal antigens could therefore be expected to significantly contribute to the efficiency and to a more general utilization of the highly promising but rather cumbersome DC-based immunotherapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]