Vaccines using dendritic cells, differentiated with propofol, enhance antitumor immunity in mice.

Dendritic cell-based vaccines are useful for enhancing antitumor immunity. It has been suggested that propofol, an intravenous anesthetic, can enhance antitumor immunity in mice. We tested vaccine efficacy for eliciting antitumor immunity, using dendritic cells differentiated from bone marrow cells in the presence of propofol. Propofol-differentiated (but not control vehicle-differentiated) dendritic cells significantly delayed the growth of B16 melanoma in vivo. In vitro cytotoxic T cell activity was not affected by propofol. However, natural killer cell activity in mice vaccinated with dendritic cells differentiated in propofol was significantly upregulated, compared to unvaccinated mice.