Dendritic cells Flashcards
What is the primary function of dendritic cells?
Capture and presentation of protein antigens to naive T cells
What are the 2 major functions of APCs?
Capture and process antigens for presentation to T cells
Produce signals required for proliferation and differentiation of lymphocytes
Why are DCs unique?
They are the only cells with the ability to present antigens to naive T cells and induce primary immune responses
What are DCs generated from?
HSCs in the bone marrow
How do DCs differentiate?
Under the control of a complex network of soluble growth factors produced by BM stroma and direct cell-cell contact with BM stromal cells
e.g. GM-CSF, IL-3, FLT3L
What do DCs give rise to?
Circulating precursors that remain in tissues where they reside as immature cells
Where are immature DCs found?
Widely distributed in all tissues - particularly those which interface the environment
Located throughout epithelium of skin, respiratory tract and GI tract
Where are immature DCs recruited to?
Sites of inflammation in peripheral tissue by chemokines (CCL20, CCL5, CCL3)
What chemokine receptors do immature DCs express?
CCR1
CCR2
CCR5
CCR6
CXCR1
What are immature DCs efficient at?
Antigen capture
What does antigenic material include?
Apoptotic bodies
Bacterial material
Material from virally infected cells
Hsp/antigen complexes
Immunoglobulin cross-linked material
Extracellular fluid
Material from healthy cells
What is receptor mediated endocytosis?
Antigen will bind to specific receptors on DC surface and become internalised in clathrin-coated vesicles or clathrin-uncoated vesicles
C-type lectin receptors e.g. mannose receptor, CEX-205
Fc-gamma receptor types I (CD64) and II (CD32)
CD91 alpha2-macroglobulin receptor (hsp)
What is phagocytosis of particulate material?
Apoptotic and necrotic cell fragments
Bacteria inc. mycobacteria
Intracellular parasite such as Leishmania major
Viruses
Latex beads
What is macropinocytosis?
Internalisation of antigens into macropinosomes - actin dependent process that requires stimulation for growth factors e.g. colony stimulating factor (CSF-1, epidermal growth factor (EGF) or platelet derived growth factor (PDGF)
Antigens processed and loaded onto MHC molecules of DCs
Aquaporins may be responsible for constitutive macropinocytosis
How do immature DCs become mature?
Must receive maturation stimulus to trigger transition from immature antigen capturing cells to mature antigen presenting cells
What are the maturation stimuli?
Pathogenic molecules due to infection - LPS, bacterial DNA, dsRNA
Balance between pro and anti-inflammatory signal in local environment
T cell derived signals - CD40L
What happens upon maturation of DCs?
Down regulation of receptors for inflammatory chemokines - loss of endocytic and phagocytic receptors
Down regulation of antigen capture
Change in morphology
Upreg of receptors for homing to lymphoid tissue - CCR7
Upreg of antigen presentation
Upreg of co-stimulatory molecules - CD40, CD58, CD80, CD86