Methods for enhancing antigen-presenting cells and anti-tumor responses in a human patient

摘要

The present invention provides methods for enhancing the development of APC from precursor cells by administering a combination of GM-CSF and IL-4. The precursor cells include: cells contained in peripheral blood, CD14<+> cells and precursors in bone marrow. Thus, administration of GM-CSF and IL-4 can be used as a form of cytokine immunotherapy. One embodiment of the present invention involves systemic administration of GM-CSF and IL-4. In this embodiment, APC are required to directly access tumor antigens as they exist in vivo within the patient. A further embodiment of the present invention involves co-administration of a tumor-associated or tumor-specific antigen, with GM-CSF and IL-4, to induce antigen-specific immunity mediated by APC. Yet another embodiment of the present invention describes systemic administration of GM-CSF and IL-4 to achieve reduced tumor burden.