Effects of Chemical Factors in the Tumor Microenvironment on the Biophysical Properties and Immune Function of Dendritic Cells

The generation and development of cancers are accompanied by marked suppression of the human immune system. Dendritic cell (DC) dysfunction has been implicated in tumor-bearing hosts. To elucidate the effects of tumor microenvironment-derived factors (TMDFs) (such as TGF-β1, IL-10, and VEGF) on the biophysical functions of DCs, DCs were treated with cancer cells and their culture supernatant. The results showed that the biophysical characteristics of imDCs and mDCs were severely deteriorated by TMDF compared with those under normal conditions, and these changes are closely correlated with the expression levels of some cytoskeleton-binding proteins. The impaired biophysical characteristics of DCs may be one of many aspects of the immune escape mechanisms of tumors. An understanding of the immune function of DCs and immune escape mechanisms, as well as the improvement of the clinical effectiveness of DC-based immune therapy against cancer, is important.