2026
January
Breaking bad macrophages through remodeling with armored CAR-T
January 28, 2026
CAR T cell efficacy is limited in solid tumors due to their highly immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment (TME), which is partially and often significantly driven by tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs). Various therapies are in development to remodel the TME to improve immunotherapy efficacy. Mateus-Tique et al. developed an armored CAR-T strategy that aims to deplete...
Autocrine RA production feeds back on DC function
January 21, 2026
As professional antigen-presenting cells, dendritic cells have been utilized as whole-cell vaccines, but their clinical efficacy has thus far been limited. Fang et al. found that a common protocol of using GM-CSF and IL-4 to induce bone marrow cells (BMCs) into DCs for use in vaccines led to a decline in antigen presentation...
DC cross-presentation of dead cell F-actin antigens sculpts tumor evolution
January 14, 2026
Type 1 conventional dendritic cells (cDC1s) cross-present tumor antigens to prime CD8+ T cells. DNGR-1 on cDC1s binds to F-actin of dead cells to allow for detection and internalization of necrotic debris, and signaling results in MHC-I processing and presentation of antigens from the dead cells. In a recent publication in Nature Immunology...
Friend or foe? EPOR helps cDC1s make the call
January 7, 2026
The priming of an immune response is a complex process that is largely dependent on the functional state of cDC1s, which can induce either immunogenic or tolerogenic priming, depending on a number of conditions. While numerous factors associated with antigen uptake and presentation have been linked to different immune outcomes, the mechanisms that...
