title: The importance of being a pDC in antiviral immunity: the IFN mission versus Ag presentation?
abstract: Plasmacytoid pre-dendritic cells (pDCs) comprise a pivotal element of antiviral immune responses. They recognize viral components, leading to type I interferon (IFN) production, and affect adaptive defense strategies designed to eliminate viral pathogens. These strategies include the ability of pDCs to modulate virus-specific CD8(+) T-cell responses. Although a great deal has been learned recently about pDCs, our knowledge of whether, how and why pDCs might function as antigen-presenting cells is extremely limited, and now is a prime time for exploring the unknowns of this area. This Opinion will focus on the IFN production and T-cell priming capacity of pDCs, and will argue that IFN production (and not T-cell priming) is the main function of pDCs during viral infection.
authors.affiliation: Cellular Biology & Viral Immunology Sections, Laboratory of Viral Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA. mhaeryfar@niaid.nih.gov
authors.forename: S M Mansour
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Haeryfar
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017951:Antigen Presentation / Q000276:immunology*; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D007372:Interferons / Q000145:classification / Q000276:immunology*; D014777:Virus Diseases / Q000276:immunology* / Q000821:virology
chemical_list: D007372:Interferons