Regulation of the Physiological Functions of Human Dendritic Cells by Recombinant Heat Shock Protein Hsp70

Dendritic cells (DC) are the most important antigen-presenting cells in the body. They are the target of action of various vaccines and dendritic cells have been used as the basis for developing cellular antitumor and antiviral vaccines, i.e., DC vaccines. At the same time, dendritic cells may provide a suitable model for studies of the activity and mechanisms of action of different immunotherapeutic formulations. One aspect of the optimization of the use of dendritic cells for inducing antigen-specific immune responses relates to the use of heat shock proteins (Hsp), particularly Hsp70. This protein can be used to introduce protein antigens into dendritic cells and to control the activity of dendritic cells. Important aspects of achieving these aims include knowledge of dendritic cell physiology and the characteristics of the interaction of Hsp70 and its complexes with antigens with dendritic cells of different levels of differentiation. Human recombinant Hsp70 was found not only to deliver antigens to dendritic cells, but also to regulate the activity of mature dendritic cells and to optimize the induction of antigen-specific cellular immune responses.