title: [Recent studies on the distribution and immune characterization of dendritic cells in the corneal epithelium].
abstract: Langerhans cell-type dendritic cells (DCs) present in the corneal epithelium are capable of taking up, processing, and presenting antigens, leading to the initiation of T-lymphocyte responses. These cells are the professional antigen-presenting cells (APCs) of the corneal epithelium and serves as the critical sentinel cells of the immune system in the ocular surface. A recent study has demonstrated that normal limbal basal epithelium is in fact endowed with a small number of slow-cycling DCs with expression of a limbal stem cell marker, ABCG2. Furthermore, it has been found that central corneal inflammation induces recruitment of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II(+) DCs from limbal basal epithelium. These findings suggest that limbal basal epithelial DCs play an important role in corneal inflammatory reaction.
authors.affiliation: Xiamen Eye Institute & Xiamen Eye Center, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China.
authors.forename: Wen-Sheng
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Zu-Guo
authors.initials: ZG
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000938:Antigen-Presenting Cells / Q000276:immunology; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000276:immunology*; D019573:Epithelium, Corneal / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology