Follicular Dendritic Cells and Innate Lymphoid Cells

Question 1

FDCs: off the top of your head (5 items)

Answer 1

Unrelated to dendritic cells

possess membranous projections and intermingle with B lymphocytes in the LNs, spleen, and mucosa

APC for B cells

have “remarkable ability to retain complement fixed Ags on their cell surface”

complement-fixed Ags = antigenic stimulus that drives Ab affinity during maturation

Question 2

Innate Lymphoid Cells (ILCs)

Answer 2

Includes several subsets of bone marrow derived cells with lymphoid morphology

effector functions similar to T cells but lack T cell antigen receptors

first/best example of innate lymphoid cell is Natural Killer cell

Question 3

Natural killer cells

Answer 3

innate lymphoid cells

secrete the cytokine IFN-gamma, which kills infected and damaged cells

Question 4

Major Functions of ILCs

Answer 4

provide early defense against infections pathogens

recognize stressed/damaged host cells and eliminate them

influence the nature of subsequent adaptive immune response