Sensing pathogens and tuning immune responses

The immune system is capable of making qualitatively distinct responses aga inst different microbial infections, and recent advances are starting to re veal how it manages this complex task. An integral component of the immune system is a network of cells known 65 dendritic cells (DCs), which sense di fferent microbial stimuli and convey this information to Lymphocytes. A bet ter understanding of DC biology has allowed a model to be constructed in wh ich the type of immune response to an infection is viewed as a function of several determinants, including the subpopulation of DCs, the nature of the microbe, microbe recognition receptors, and the cytokine microenvironment.