title: Monitoring dendritic cell activation and maturation.
abstract: Since the 1997 discovery that the first identified human homologue of Drosophila Toll could activate the innate immune system, the innate arm of immunity has rapidly taken on a new light as an important player in the recognition of pathogens and damaged self. The recognition of danger by dendritic cells (DC) is a crucial step in activating the adaptive immune system. Different DC express varied subsets of pattern recognition receptors (PRR), enabling both overlap and exclusivity in the recognition of danger signals by DC. PRR-mediated DC maturation and activation can be measured by changes in the surface expression of costimulatory molecules and changes in size and shape of the DC and by their production of different cytokines.
authors: Centre for Immunology, Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Australia.|Department of Immunology, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.
authors: Ben
authors: B
authors: Fancke
authors: Centre for Immunology, Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Australia. Meredith@burnet.edu.au.|Department of Immunology, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia. Meredith@burnet.edu.au.
authors: Meredith
authors: M
authors: O'Keeffe
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques; D048430:Cell Shape; D048429:Cell Size; D003584:Cytological Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000166:cytology* / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D013194:Staining and Labeling