IMMUNE DEFENSE-MECHANISMS OF THE DENTAL-PULP

Defense reactions of the dentin/pulp complex involve a variety of biol ogical systems, in which the immune system plays a pivotal role. The k nowledge of the organization and function of pulpal immunocompetent ce lls has been sparse, but in recent years a significant body of informa tion of immune mechanisms in general has provided a footing for substa ntial new knowledge of the immune mechanisms of the dental pulp. The i dentification of pulpal dendritic cells (DCs) has generated research a ctivities which have led to a concept of how an antigenic challenge ma y evoke a pulpal inflammatory response. Although DCs are not able to i dentify foreign antigens specifically, they provide necessary signals to activate T-lymphocytes which in turn will orchestrate other immunoc ompetent cells to mount the local immune defense of the dental pulp. T he purpose of this review is to accent the organization and function o f pulpal DCs and other tissue and cellular components and to provide a basis for how they may interact to instigate pulpal defense mechanism s.