Dendritic cells responses to biomaterials

Dendritic cells (DCs) play a major role in the initiation of innate and adaptive immunity. The delivery and activation of DCs is a complex process which involves the transport, binding, and uptake of the antigen by DCs followed by its processing and presentation to cells of the adaptive immune system. This process can be hijacked to artificially modulate the innate and adaptive immune system, by targeting different signaling pathways of DCs. Notably, biomaterials are excellent tools to modulate these signaling pathways. In this chapter, we describe the various natural (gelatin, chitosan, and alginate) and synthetic [poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA), poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)] biomaterials that can modulate DC functions for a variety of immunomodulating applications. Furthermore, this chapter also discusses the use of blends, that is, copolymers like PLGA-chitosan and monomethoxyPEG-PLGA and their ability to recruit and activate DCs for different therapies. Herein, an overview of the different uses of biomaterials to shape immune responses by modulating the function of DCs is described.