Abstract
The respiratory tract is under constant bombardment from both innocuous and pathogenic material. The decision of how to respond to these challenges is mediated by a specialized set of antigen presenting cells within the lungs called dendritic cells (DC). Proper respiratory homeostasis requires that these respiratory DC (rDC) utilize both the local lung inflammatory environment as well as recognition of pathogen-specific patterns to determine whether to maintain homeostasis by either driving tolerance or immunity to the inhaled material. This review will focus on rDC and highlight how rDC regulate tolerance and immunity.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 128-145 |
Number of pages | 18 |
Journal | Immunologic Research |
Volume | 39 |
Issue number | 1-3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Nov 2007 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Acknowledgments We thank Dr. Steven Varga, Jodi McGill, and Michelle Edsen for critical reading of this manuscript. This work was supported by University of Iowa Department of Pathology Startup funds to KLL.
Keywords
- Dendritic cells
- Lungs
- Mucosal immunity
- Respiratory pathogens
- Tolerance