| Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3353573 | Immunity | 2008 | 9 Pages |
Specific defense mechanisms against pathogens are fulfilled by different subsets of nonmucosal conventional dendritic cells (DCs), including migratory Langerhans cells (LCs), dermal DCs, and resident CD8+ and CD8− DCs found in lymphoid organs. Dermal DCs capture antigens in the skin and migrate to lymph nodes, where they can transfer the antigens to CD8+ DCs and activate CD4+ T cells. Differential antigen-processing machinery grants CD8+ DCs a high efficiency in activating CD8+ T cells through crosspresentation, whereas CD8− DCs preferentially trigger CD4+ T cell responses. Recent findings have revealed the important role played by monocyte-derived DCs (mo-DCs), newly formed during infection, in activating CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, regulating immunoglobulin production, and killing pathogens. However, a number of controversial issues regarding the function of different DC subsets during viral, bacterial, and parasitic infections remain to be resolved.
