Skin triggering of TLR7 modulates respiratory dendritic cells and natural killer cells – identification of a novel mode for manipulation of respiratory leukocytes

Objective: Dendritic cell (DC) maturation and activation in situ is a critical element of successful DC vaccination protocols whereas suppression of functional DC activation represents an important step in the development of immunoregulatory cellular therapy protocols. The TLR7 agonist imiquimod has been used successfully as novel topical immune adjuvant but the systemic use has been limited due to significant toxicity. We hypothesized that skin application of a synthetic TLR7 ligand may represent a novel means to modulate respiratory leukocytes. Methods: In a placebo-controlled experimental animal study we have…