Functional alteration of myeloid dendritic cells through head and neck cancer.

BACKGROUND In head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), the secretion of various immunosuppressive mediators contributes to large-scale effects on the immune functions. The influence of HNSCC on various cellular functions of human myeloid dendritic cells (MDC) was analyzed in this work. MATERIALS AND METHODS MDCs were isolated from peripheral blood by 'magnetic bead separation'. Cellular functions were analyzed using flow cytometry, migration- and ELISPOT assays as well as cytokine detection assays. RESULTS HNSCC massively affects MDCs to induce effective T-cell responses. Analysis of MDC migration and cytokine secretion revealed that HNSCC triggers the production of tumor-promoting and immunosuppressive cytokines IL-1 and IL-10 and results in an increased MDC migration activity. CpG-ODN is able to act contradictory to HNSCC. CONCLUSION HNSCC is able to modulate various functions of human MDCs. CpG-ODN is suggested as a potential immunostimulatory agent of human MDC.