DC-SIGN and LFA-1: a battle for ligand

The intercellular adhesion molecules (ICAMs) play a prominent role in regul ating the migration and activation of both dendritic cells (DCs) and T lymp hocytes in the immune system. Recent observations have demonstrated that bo th leukocyte function-associated molecule 1 (LFA-1) and DC-specific ICAM-gr abbing nonintegrin (DC-SIGN), two structurally unrelated adhesion receptors , regulate the function of leukocytes and DCs by binding to the same ICAMs. Here, we focus on the structure-function relationships of DC-SIGN and LFA- 1 to obtain an insight into their role in the migration and activation of D Cs and T cells in the control of immunity.