THE DENDRITIC CELL - ITS POTENT ROLE IN THE RESPIRATORY IMMUNE-RESPONSE

The importance of the dendritic cell for the capture of antigens and i nitiating an immune response is now well recognized. Whereas much is k nown about their structure and function, their lineage is still not cl ear. Studies in vitro have demonstrated that the regulated maturation of function that occurs in culture explains many of the in vivo events relating to antigen capture and presentation. The control over matura tion and migration of these cells to the immune system is decisive as to whether an immune response is mounted or not. 'Danger' signals prov ided by conserved bacterial products or by microenvironmental cytokine s are important regulators. Dendritic cells have been clearly involved in the development of respiratory disease and our understanding of th eir involvement will have an impact on our future therapeutic strategi es. (C) 1996 Academic Press Limited