Without the help of conventional type 1 dendritic cells (cDC1s), T-cells won’t be able to travel into the tumor to execute their function. DCs can present their antigens in different ways. Recent work has been focused on the mechanism that initiates cross-presentation. It is now known that DCs are required in order to sense actin on apoptotic cells which can induce cross-presentation. Another mechanism of antigen presentation is cross-dressing. In this interview, Maria Zagorulya, BS, of Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Cambridge, MA, expresses the importance in understanding how DCs help to guide T-cell responses via presenting antigens and providing various signals. This interview took place during the 36th Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.
