title: Diversification of dendritic cell subsets: Emerging roles for STAT proteins.
abstract: The term dendritic cell (DC) refers to a population of hematopoietic cells with critical roles in immunity, including immune activation in response to pathogen-elicited danger signals and immune tolerance. Aberrant DC activity is an important contributing factor in autoimmunity, while severe DC depletion accompanies certain immunodeficiency conditions. By contrast, DCs have become attractive candidates to manipulate in immune therapy. Recent studies show that STAT transcription factors have unique roles in DCs, a feature that might be exploited in future DC-based therapies. Here, we focus on the functions of STAT1, STAT3, and STAT5 in DC generation and DC-mediated immune responses.
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology; The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center; Houston, TX USA.
authors.forename: Haiyan S
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Immunology; The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center; Houston, TX USA ; The University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences; Houston, TX USA.
authors.forename: Stephanie S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Watowich
keywords: STAT proteins; cytokines; dendritic cells; immune cell development