Clarification of molecular mechanisms for regulating dendritic cell subset functions

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Dendritic cells (DCs) consist of various subsets and functions in a subset-specific manner. Plasmacytoid DC (PDC) produce type I interferons (IFNs) in response to the signaling through nucleic acid sensors, TLR7/9, thereby being involved in antiviral defense and pathogenesis of certain autoimmune diseases. An Ets family transcription factor, Spi-B, highly expressed in PDC, is critical for this PDC activity. Furthremore, CD8alpha+ DC is featured by its high crosspresenting ability. The mutant mice, in which CD8alpha+ DC can be traced by fluorescence protein expression and ablated conditionally, were generated. By using the mice, CD8alpha+ DC was found to be critical for in vivio crosspresentation. Thus, molecular and cellular mechansims on the DC subset-specific functions were clarified.