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Immunobiology
of Dendritic Cells in Disease
Our lab focuses upon the interactions between dendritic cells (DC) and
T cells in disease states such as cancer and autoimmunity. DC represent
a set bone marrow-derived antigen presenting cells that are uniquely capable
of initiating or modulating T cell immunity. By studying how difference
types of DC repond to different stimuli (e.g., viruses, bacteria), we
hope to understand how DC can coordinate difference immune outcomes in
response to different pathogens and disease states.
We also develop approaches to exploit DC as a platform for antigen-specific
immune modulation in vivo in both animal models and humans. We have shown
that antigen loaded DC can serve as therapeutic vaccine in cancer patients.
Moreover, in vivo expansion of CD8 T cells identified with MHC/peptide
tetramers following vaccination can correlate with tumor responses. By
identifying the dynamics of antigen specific T cells and their capacity
to develop immunologic memory, we hope to develop improved strategies
in tumor immunotherapy. Future work will also focus upon understanding
how altered peptide ligands or altered forms of self-antigens can enhance
the immune response to tumor-associated self-antigens.
Selected Publications:
Fong L and Engelman EG. Dendritic cells in cancer immunotherapy. Ann Rev
Immunol 18:245-273, 2000.
Fong L, Hao Y, Rivas A, Benike C, Yuen A, Fisher G, Davis MM, Engleman
EG. Human tumor immunotherapy with an altered CEA derived epitope loaded
on Flt3L expanded dendritic cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci; 98(15):8809-14,
2001.
Fong L, Mengozzi M, Abbey NW, Herndier BG, Engleman EG. Productive infection
of plasmacytoid dendritic cells with human immunodeficiency virus type
1 is triggered by CD40 ligation. J Virol; 76(21):11033-41, 2002.
Merad M, Sugie T, Engleman EG, Fong L. In vivo manipulation of dendritic
cells to induce therapeutic antitumor immunity. Blood 99(5):1676-82, 2002.
Contact Information:
Email: lfong@medicine.ucsf.edu
Phone: 415/514-3160
Address: Box 0511, Room HSW 513
The University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, (415) 476-9000
Copyright 2003, The Regents of the University of California.
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