DNA viruses and genetic modification of dendritic cells.

An alternative approach to the use of tumor-peptide-loaded dendritic cells (DC) in immunotherapy would be the use of genetically modified DC using viral vectors expressing tumor-associated antigens (TAA). However, viruses have developed several immune escape mechanisms and, thus, one has to study the interaction between viruses and DC before these viruses can be used as an alternative strategy. Here we report that vaccinia virus (VV) as well as herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) are able to potently infect monocyte-derived DC, however, this infection leads to the inhibition of the DC-mediated T cell stimulation in vitro.