Dendritic cells in hematological malignancies

- DCs are crucial arbiters of the host immune response against tumors.
- Quantitative and qualitative alterations of DCs occur in hematologic neoplasms.
- This review confirms the potential of DCs as biomarkers in hematological malignancies.

Dendritic cells (DCs) are bone-marrow-derived immune cells accounted for a crucial role in initiating and modulating the adaptive immune response and supporting the innate immune response independently from T cells. While functioning as the most effective antigen-presenting cells within the immune system, DCs can otherwise induce tolerance in central and peripheral lymphoid organs acting therefore as suppressors rather than stimulators of the immune response. Within mechanisms regulating antitumor immunity, DCs can capture antigens from viable or damaged tumor cells and present the processed peptides to T-cells to prompt the generation and maintenance of an effective tumor-specific T-cell response. Upon a complex cross-talk with other cellular components of the tumor microenvironment, DCs can, on the other hand, exert a potent antigen-dependent and −independent tolerogenic function by favoring the process of tumor immune evasion. Due to this dual-role in balancing antitumor immunity and tolerance, possibly linked to distinct developmental stages and functional subsets, several studies have addressed the regulatory significance of DCs in different types of malignancies. This review summarizes the most significant pieces of evidence highlighting the critical relevance of bone marrow-derived DCs within the immune pathways regulating pathogenesis and progression of hemopoietic tumors.