Dendritic cells and the uses thereof in screening cellular targets and potential drugs

A method of activating an immune response in a subject contacted by a dendritic cell stimulus comprising administering to the subject an effective amount of IL-2, wherein IL-2 activates the immune response in combination with a dendritic cell stimulated by the stimulus.

A method of inducing IL-2 production in a dendritic cell comprising contacting the dendritic cell with an agent activating a toll like receptor of the dendritic cell.

A method of making a dendritic cell for cell-based therapy comprising contacting the dendritic cell with an agent activating a toll like receptor of the dendritic cell, wherein the activation induces IL-2 production of the dendritic cell.

A method of screening an agent for affecting dendritic cell maturation comprising incubating in the presence and absence of a test agent, a microbial stimulus and an immature dendritic cell, detecting IL-2 expression in the dendritic cell in the presence and absence of the test agent, wherein an increase or decrease in the amount of IL-2 expression caused by the test agent is indicative of an agent affecting dendritic cell maturation.

An assay system useful for testing an agent's ability to affect dendritic cell maturation comprising a container containing a test agent, a microbial stimulus, and an immature dendritic cell, wherein the system allows the detection of IL-2 expression of the dendritic cell.

A method of making a library of a gene expression profile for dendritic cell maturation corresponding to a microbial stimulus comprising

• incubating an immature dendritic cell with a microbial stimulus,
• identifying a gene in the dendritic cell wherein the microbial stimulus causes a change in the expression of the gene, and
• generating a gene expression profile for the microbial stimulus wherein the profile comprises one or more genes that change their expression in the dendritic cell in the presence of the microbial stimulus.

A method of treating an immunosuppression associated with an immunosuppressive virus infection in a subject comprising administering to a subject in need of such treatment an effective amount of IL-2 and an activator of dendritic cell.

A method of treating an immunosuppressive virus infection comprising administering to a subject in need of such treatment an effective amount of IL-2 and an activator of dendritic cell.

A method of screening a candidate therapeutic agent for treating an immunosuppressive virus infection comprising incubating in the presence and absence of a test agent, an immunosuppressive virus associated with the immunosuppressive virus infection and a dendritic cell, determining the level of an activity specific for dendritic cell activation, wherein an increase of the level of the activity caused by the test agent is indicative of a candidate therapeutic agent for treating the immunosuppressive virus infection.