Dendritic cells: Immunological sentinels with a central role in health anddisease

Immunological effector cells must be sensitive to the antigens or environme ntal signals that indicate that a pathogen is present. To this end, a group of cells known as the professional antigen-presenting cells have the abili ty to educate T, B and NK cells as to the fingerprints of specific infectio ns. The most adept of these cells are a closely related family termed dendr itic cells (DC). A subset of these act as peripheral sentinels, specializin g in the uptake, processing and presentation of antigenic material combined with an ability to detect a wide variety of 'danger' signals. These 'dange r' or activation signals induce profound changes in dendritic cell physiolo gy, facilitating the efficient stimulation of both adaptive and innate immu nity. In the present review, a number of recent advances in the understandi ng of DC biology are discussed. These advances offer insights into the path ogenesis of a wide variety of diseases and point towards future strategies for immunotherapy.