Antigen delivery to DCs via CD40 is more efficient than through nine other receptors at eliciting CD8 T+ cell response.
Antigen delivery via lectins (e.g., LOX-1 and Dectin-1) is more efficient than CD40 at eliciting CD4+ T cell responses.
The success of an immunotherapeutic vaccine for cancer is largely dependent on its ability to evoke potent cellular immunity. Although targeting antigens to dendritic cells (DCs) has been known to be an efficient strategy to evoke cellular immunity, which targeted receptors yield the optimal cellular immunity remained elusive. We report that targeting CD40, compared to 9 other DC receptors, results in the greatest levels of CD8+ cytotoxic T cell responses, while targeting lectins results in enhanced CD4+ helper T cell responses. The findings of this study will assist us in the rational design of immunotherapeutic vaccines against cancers.