Figure 6. Schematic model of tumour-induced DC functional deficiency.

MoDCs generated with tumour sera exhibited disrupted upstream signalling, including attenuated canonical NF-κB and STAT3 signalling, which might lead to the abnormal transcription of downstream genes, including decreased MHC class II family members, cytokine and chemokine profiles, and receptors, and further lead to impaired antigen recognition and presentation, undermining the initiation of proper anti-tumour immune responses.