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REVIEW article

Front. Immunol.
Sec. Cancer Immunity and Immunotherapy
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1408474

Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine: Harnessing Dendritic Cells for Anti-tumor Benefits

Provisionally accepted
Mengyi Shen Mengyi Shen 1,2Zhen Li Zhen Li 1Jing Wang Jing Wang 2,3Hongjie Xiang Hongjie Xiang 2*Qi Xie Qi Xie 4*
  • 1 Shandong First Medical University, Tai'an, Shandong, China
  • 2 Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shandong First Medical University, Shandong Provincial Qianfoshan Hospital, Jinan, Shandong Province, China
  • 3 Shandong Second Medical University, Weifang, Shandong Province, China
  • 4 Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shandong First Medical University, Shandong Provincial Qianfoshan Hospital, Jinan, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Chinese Herbal Medicine (CHM) is being more and more used in cancer treatment because of its ability to regulate the immune system. Chinese Herbal Medicine has several advantages over other treatment options, including being multi-component, multi-target, and having fewer side effects. Dendritic cells (DCs) are specialized antigen presenting cells that play a vital part in connecting the innate and adaptive immune systems. They are also important in immunotherapy. Recent evidence suggests that Chinese Herbal Medicine and its components can positively impact the immune response by targeting key functions of dendritic cells. In this review, we have summarized the influences of Chinese Herbal Medicine on the immunobiological feature of dendritic cells, emphasized an anti-tumor effect of CHM-treated DCs, and also pointed out deficiencies in the regulation of DC function by Chinese Herbal Medicine and outlined future research directions.

    Keywords: Chinese herbal medicine, Dendritic Cells, maturation, anti-tumor, Immunity

    Received: 28 Mar 2024; Accepted: 30 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Shen, Li, Wang, Xiang and Xie. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Hongjie Xiang, Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shandong First Medical University, Shandong Provincial Qianfoshan Hospital, Jinan, 250014, Shandong Province, China
    Qi Xie, Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shandong First Medical University, Shandong Provincial Qianfoshan Hospital, Jinan, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.