**7. Concluding remarks**

*Ex vivo* loading of DCs shows promising results as an immunotherapy for HIV and cancer. However, the currently applied strategy is not applicable on a large scale, especially in Africa where the largest incidence of HIV infections is observed. The use of particulate vehicles able to directly deliver the antigen of interest, be it proteins, peptides or nucleic acids, into DCs *in vivo* is a very attractive concept. Different antigen formulations can be further tailored with targeting antibodies or immunomodulatory ligands to promote uptake by DCs and to trigger the desired type of immune response. In the context of HIV immunotherapy a large number of epitopes needs to cover a broad panel of quasi species. Therefore, mRNA-based vaccination strategies present an attractive option. In contrast to pDNA, mRNA needs to be delivered only into the cytoplasm and induces transient antigen expression without the risk of genomic insertion. Further research will be required for designing an optimal carrier system preferably comprising an adjuvant, necessary to achieve strong HIV-specific CTL responses with the ultimate goal to control viral replication in the absence of additional HAART therapy.
