Method for rapid generation of mature dendritic cells

Patent Number: 7,354,909

Dendritic cells are the most potent stimulators of the immune system.  Generally it is the dendritic cell that picks up antigens and makes the decision whether the immune system should "get mad" and go after the antigen, or whether the antigen represents no substantial danger and therefore should be ignored.  In some cases the dendritic cell makes the decision that the antigen is actually part of "self" and therefore active suppression should be generated against T cells that recognize that antigen.

The current patent provides compositions of matter useful for inducing dendritic cell maturation in vitro and in vivo.  This patent covers specific oligodeoxynucleotides of at least about 16 nucleotides in length.  From reading the specification the covered compounds seem to be acting at the level of the plasmacytoid DC and stimulatory of IFN-alpha.

This patent is useful for generation of vaccine adjuvants, general immune stimulators, and for induction of localized "danger signals", for example as part of a post-cryosurgery method of increasing immunogenicity of left over cancer cells. 

View this patent on the USPTO website.