Impact of interleukin-10 on phenotype and gene expression during early monocyte differentiation into dendritic cells.

Background: Cancer is linked to defects in immunosurveillance. Vaccination studies using dendritic cells (DC) try to re-establish immune responses toward tumor cells. Tumor-derived products such as interleukin-10 (IL-10) have inhibitory effects on DC function, and tumor-bearing hosts exhibit a lower number of DCs, suggesting inhibitory effects of tumor-derived factors on the recruitment of precursor cells.