When injected intravenously into mice, the drug α-galactosylceramide (αGalCer) — originally isolated from molluscs —binds to CD1d, mediating a rapid natural killer T (NKT) lymphocyte reaction that triggers anti-tumor activity, but this response is short lived and non-specific. In August 5 Nature Immunology, Shin-ichiro Fujii and colleagues at the Rockefeller University, New York, show that administration of α-galactosylceramide–loaded dendritic cells (DCs) can induce a prolonged IFN-γ–producing NKT response that may allow for improved manipulation of NKT cells in disease settings (DOI:10.1038/ni827).