Precursor cells that have the potential of becoming dendritic cells can be isolated from the blood by a special procedure. Certain messenger substances, to which the cells are exposed in a culture dish, promote this capability.

While the precursor cells are in the maturation phase, they are capable of absorbing protein (e.g. tumor antigens out of the patient‘s plasma).

The not yet completely matured precursor cells can take up these proteins under clean laboratory conditions even outside of the body.

Once the cells have taken up the tumor antigens, they rearrange and present them on their surface. Thus, the characteristics of these antigens can later be recognized by other immune cells.



During this process, the precursor cells mature into fully developed dendritic cells that carry the characteristics of harmful tumor cell structures related to a special marker on their surface. The immune cells can detect and identify this marker as harmful.

When the meanwhile fully developed dendritic cells are injected subcutaneously, they travel to the lymph nodes and activate various types of killer cells (the so-called cytotoxic T-lymphocytes) that have the capability to destroy degenerated cells.

These activated killer cells „remember“ the foreign structure characteristics. They enter the vascular system, spread throughout the whole body and search for cells having exactly these characteristics in various tissues.

When the killer cells encounter relevant cells during their search (in the concrete case, tumor cells), they try to destroy them and send out messenger substances that alarm other defense cells.