title: A review of immune amplification via ligand clustering by self-assembled liquid-crystalline DNA complexes.
abstract: We examine how the interferon production of plasmacytoid dendritic cells is amplified by the self-assembly of liquid-crystalline antimicrobial peptide/DNA complexes. These specialized dendritic cells are important for host defense because they quickly release large quantities of type I interferons in response to infection. However, their aberrant activation is also correlated with autoimmune diseases such as psoriasis and lupus. In this review, we will describe how polyelectrolyte self-assembly and the statistical mechanics of multivalent interactions contribute to this process. In a more general compass, we provide an interesting conceptual corrective to the common notion in molecular biology of a dichotomy between specific interactions and non-specific interactions, and show examples where one can construct exquisitely specific interactions using non-specific interactions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States.
authors.forename: Ernest Y
authors.initials: EY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States.
authors.forename: Calvin K
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94143, United States.
authors.forename: Nathan W
authors.initials: NW
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.affiliation: Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, Department of Polymer Science and Engineering, CAS Key Laboratory of Soft Matter Chemistry, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, PR China.
authors.forename: Fan
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Lausanne University Hospital CHUV, Lausanne 1009, Switzerland; Department of Infectious, Parasitic and Immunomediated Diseases, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lande
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road CB21EW, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: Tine
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Curk
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road CB21EW, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: Daan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Frenkel
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road CB21EW, Cambridge, UK; Department for Theoretical Physics, Jožef Stefan Institute, Jamova 39, Ljubljana 1000, Slovenia; International Center for Soft Matter Research, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, PR China.
authors.forename: Jure
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dobnikar
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Lausanne University Hospital CHUV, Lausanne 1009, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gilliet
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioengineering, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States.
authors.forename: Gerard C L
authors.initials: GCL
authors.lastname: Wong
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001327:Autoimmune Diseases; D004247:DNA; D003713:Dendritic Cells / Q000737:chemistry / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007111:Immunity, Cellular; D007370:Interferon Type I
chemical_list: D007370:Interferon Type I; D004247:DNA
keywords: Innate immunity; Multivalency; Polyelectrolytes; SAXS; Statistical mechanics; TLR9