Dendritic cells turn traitorous

endritic cells present antigens during immune responses and are thought to be important in antitumor activity. However, under the influence of the known cancer promoter VEGF-A, dendritic cell precursors take on the trappings of endothelial cells and contribute to tumor blood vessels, speeding the cancer’s growth, according to a report by Jose Conejo-Garcia, Fabian Benencia, George Coukos (University of Pennsylvania Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA), and colleagues. Hoping to boost anti-tumor immunity in a mouse model of ovarian cancer, Conejo-Garcia et al. found that expression of the inflammatory peptides -defensins attracted dendritic cells to the D