Understanding the crosstalks between dendritic cells and T lymphocytes

Dendritic cells present endocytic antigens by Major Histocopatibility Molecules (MHC) to CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes.

Our team investigates the cellular processes underpinning the formation of MHC-peptides complexes in dendritic cells recognized by the T cell receptor. We develop genetic models to track the contribution of these cellular pathways of antigen presentation to the development of effector anti-tumor CD8+ T cell responses.

Dendritic cells provide antigenic signals to T cells and also control fate decisions in T cells by imprinting their differentiation into effectors or memory cells.

We are analyzing how distinct dendritic cell subsets control the differentiation of long-lived memory T cells able to reside in tumor beds and fuel anti-tumor immune responses against lung cancer.

This research is a pre-requisite for the rationale design of new cancer vaccines able to target and deliver cancer-associated antigens into memory-forming  dendritic cells.