Division of labor, plasticity, and crosstalk between dendritic cell subsets.
For years, dendritic cell (DC) biologists have oscillated between two seemingly antagonistic ideas: functional specialization (division of labor) of DC subsets and plasticity (multitasking). More recently, a third hypothesis is gathering support: crosstalk between functionally distinct DC subsets. This reveals a previously unappreciated hierarchy of organization within the DC system, and provides a conceptual framework to understand how cooperation between functionally distinct, yet plastic, DC subsets can shape adaptive immunity and immunological memory. Here we review the recent advances in this area.
Pulendran
Bali
B
Emory Vaccine Center, 954 Gatewood Road, Atlanta, GA 30329, USA. bpulend@rmy.emory.edu
Tang
Hua
H
Denning
Timothy L
TL
D000818:Animals; D017951:Antigen Presentation; D002450:Cell Communication; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000145:classification / Q000276:immunology*; D051379:Mice