Dendritic cell cross‐dressing and tumor immunity

In addition to direct and cross‐presentation, dendritic cells (DCs) can present tumor antigens (TAs) to T cells via a hitherto poorly understood mechanism called “cross‐dressing.” DC cross‐dressing involves the acquisition of preformed peptide‐major histocompatibility class I/II (p‐MHC) complexes from cancer cells. This process has been documented both in cell culture and in tumor models; may occur via the uptake of tumor‐derived extracellular vesicles or the horizontal transfer of plasma membrane fragments from cancer cells to DCs; and can be enhanced through DC engineering for therapeutic applications. In some experimental contexts, DC cross‐dressing may be essential for productive anti‐tumor immunity, possibly owing to the fact that tumor‐derived p‐MHC complexes encompass the full repertoire of immunologically relevant TAs against which primed cytotoxic T cells can exert their tumoricidal activity.