title: The plasmacytoid dendritic cell as the Swiss army knife of the immune system: molecular regulation of its multifaceted functions.
abstract: Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC) have been regarded as the "professional type I IFN-producing cells" of the immune system following viral recognition that relies on the expression of TLR7 and TLR9. Furthermore, pDC link the innate and adaptive immune systems via cytokine production and Ag presentation. More recently, their ability to induce tolerance and cytotoxicity has been added to their "immune skills." Such a broad range of actions, resembling the diverse functional features of a Swiss army knife, requires strong and prompt molecular regulation to prevent detrimental effects, including autoimmune pathogenesis or tumor escape. Over the last decades, we and other investigators have started to unravel some aspects of the signaling pathways that regulate the various functions of human pDC. In this article, we review aspects of the molecular regulatory mechanisms to control pDC function in light of their multifaceted roles during immunity, autoimmunity, and cancer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology and Histology, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, the Netherlands;
authors.forename: Julien J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Karrich
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology and Histology, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, the Netherlands;
authors.forename: Loes C M
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Jachimowski
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095; and Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Molecular Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095.
authors.forename: Christel H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Uittenbogaart
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology and Histology, Academic Medical Center, University of Amsterdam, 1105 AZ Amsterdam, the Netherlands; b.blom@amc.uva.nl.
authors.forename: Bianca
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Blom
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000941:Antigens / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D003602:Cytotoxicity, Immunologic; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007107:Immune System / Q000502:physiology*; D007108:Immune Tolerance; D056747:Immunomodulation; D015398:Signal Transduction; D051193:Toll-Like Receptors / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000941:Antigens; D051193:Toll-Like Receptors