Maturity allows migration of dendritic cells to lymph nodes in melanoma patients.(Brief Article)

2003 MAR 5 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- According to recent research from The Netherlands, "Dendritic cells are the professional antigen-presenting cells of the immune system. To induce an effective immune response, these cells should not only express high levels of MHC and costimulatory molecules but also migrate into the lymph nodes to interact with naive T cells. Here, we demonstrate that in vitro-generated mature, but not immature dendritic cells, efficiently migrate into the T-cell areas of lymph nodes of melanoma patients."

"This difference is confirmed by in vitro studies, in which immature dendritic cells are strongly adherent, whereas mature dendritic cells remain highly motile," reported I. Jolanda M. de Vries and colleagues at University Medical Center Nijmegen. "Our present findings demonstrate that the ability of dendritic cells to mount a proper immune response correlates with their ability to ...