Dr Olivier Gasser
Dr Olivier Gasser
Date: 12 October 2012 Time: 1.00 pmSpeaker: Dr Olivier Gasser
Senior Research Fellow, Vaccine Therapy Group, Malaghan Institute of Medical Research
Title: Generation of human monocyte-derived dendritic cells for immunotherapy
Dendritic cells are the most potent antigen-presenting cells in our body. Thus, it comes as no surprise that recent efforts in cancer vaccine research aimed at harnessing their immunological potency, in particular to induce and expand cancer specific T cell responses. The optimal methodology to generate functional monocyte-derived dendritic cells (moDCs) for immunotherapeutic purposes is however not clearly established and various methods have been put forth in the quest for the best vaccine product. But as the specifications of dendritic cell-based vaccines are highly variable, any given vaccine study will need to customize existing protocols to its needs. Within the context of the upcoming melanoma vaccine trial, we performed validation studies to identify a moDC-generating protocol in line with our unique vaccine design, i.e. the combination of antigen-derived peptides and a-galactosylceramide. Those studies are still ongoing.
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