Dendritic Cell Vaccines and Their Effects on Immune Cells in Liver Cancer Patients
Author Information
Author(s): Sarah M. Bray, Lazar Vujanovic, Lisa H. Butterfield
Primary Institution: University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute
Hypothesis
HCC patients vaccinated with immature DC pulsed with AFP peptides would not impact activation of circulating NK cells.
Conclusion
The study found that dendritic cell vaccines can activate NK cells and decrease regulatory T cell frequencies in hepatocellular carcinoma patients.
Supporting Evidence
- NK cell activation was observed in 4 out of 5 patients after vaccination.
- Treg frequencies decreased in 4 out of 5 patients post-vaccination.
- Different dendritic cell preparations showed varying effects on NK cell activation and Treg frequencies.
- AdV/DC were more effective at activating NK cells compared to peptide or protein-loaded DC.
- Healthy donor cells produced more cytokines than HCC patient cells in response to DC coculture.
Takeaway
This study shows that a special vaccine can help the body's immune system fight liver cancer by making certain immune cells more active and reducing others that calm the immune response.
Methodology
The study involved testing PBMC from HCC patients and healthy donors, assessing NK cell activation and Treg frequencies using flow cytometry after vaccination with different dendritic cell preparations.
Potential Biases
Potential bias due to the small sample size and the specific patient population studied.
Limitations
The sample size was small, and additional functional assays of NK cell killing and Treg suppression were not performed due to insufficient banked PBMC.
Participant Demographics
Patients were late-stage HCC patients, with varying previous treatments and responses to the vaccine.
Statistical Information
P-Value
p<0.05
Statistical Significance
p<0.05
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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