Researchers at WashU Medicine have discovered that mRNA cancer vaccines can activate an unexpected backup immune pathway, allowing them to generate strong anti-tumor responses even when a key immune cell is absent. In mouse studies, the team found that a second type of dendritic cell, known as cDC2, can step in to activate cancer-fighting T cells when the traditionally important cDC1 cells are missing. This challenges previous assumptions about how mRNA cancer vaccines trigger immune responses. The findings could help scientists design more effective mRNA cancer vaccines, optimize vaccine formulations, and better understand why some patients respond more strongly to immunotherapy than others.
