title: Origin, homeostasis and function of Langerhans cells and other langerin-expressing dendritic cells.
abstract: Langerhans cells (LCs) are a specialized subset of dendritic cells (DCs) that populate the epidermal layer of the skin. Langerin is a lectin that serves as a valuable marker for LCs in mice and humans. In recent years, new mouse models have led to the identification of other langerin(+) DC subsets that are not present in the epidermis, including a subset of DCs that is found in most non-lymphoid tissues. In this Review we describe new developments in the understanding of the biology of LCs and other langerin(+) DCs and discuss the challenges that remain in identifying the role of different DC subsets in tissue immunity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gene and Cell Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York 10029, USA. Miriam.Merad@mssm.edu
authors.forename: Miriam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Merad
authors.forename: Florent
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ginhoux
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Collin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015703:Antigens, CD / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D000954:Antigens, Surface / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D000078404:Epidermal Cells; D006706:Homeostasis; D006801:Humans; D007801:Langerhans Cells / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D037181:Lectins, C-Type / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000166:cytology; D037241:Mannose-Binding Lectins / Q000096:biosynthesis*; D051379:Mice
chemical_list: D015703:Antigens, CD; D000954:Antigens, Surface; C121916:CD207 protein, human; C498497:Cd207 protein, mouse; D037181:Lectins, C-Type; D037241:Mannose-Binding Lectins