Effects of Traditional Chinese Medicine on DCs Under Tumor Microenvironment

Tumor microenvironment-derived factors (TMDF) can impair the immune functions of DCs through the disturbance of biophysical characteristics. Reconstruction of the tumor microenvironment could improve the clinical effectiveness of DCs-based immune therapy against cancer. The Gekko sulfated polysaccharide-protein complex (GSPP), a kind of medicine isolated from traditional Chinese herbs Gekko swinhonis Guenther, could partially or completely improve the biophysical characteristics of DCs in the tumor microenvironment. The secretion of IL-12 did not change compared with that of DCs in tumor microenvironment, but the secretion of IL-10 was resumed to control level, indicating that GSPP could partially restore the defective biophysical characteristics of DCs via modifying the HCC microenvironment and decreasing the secretion of IL-10 of DCs.