The role of dendritic cells in autoimmunity

Dipyaman Ganguly (1) , Stefan Haak (1) , Vanja Sisirak (1) , Boris Reizis (1)

1 Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY 10032

Dendritic cells (DCs) initiate and shape both the innate and adaptive immune responses. Accordingly, recent evidence from clinical studies and experimental models implicates DCs in the pathogenesis of most autoimmune diseases. However, fundamental questions remain unanswered concerning the actual roles of DCs in autoimmunity, both in general and, in particular, in specific diseases. In this Review, we discuss the proposed roles of DCs in immunological tolerance, the effect of the gain or loss of DCs on autoimmunity and DC-intrinsic molecular regulators that help to prevent the development of autoimmunity. We also review the emerging roles of DCs in several autoimmune diseases, including autoimmune myocarditis, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, type 1 diabetes and systemic lupus erythematosus.

Domaines: Sciences du Vivant [q-bio]

Dipyaman Ganguly, Stefan Haak, Vanja Sisirak, Boris Reizis. The role of dendritic cells in autoimmunity. Nature Reviews Immunology, 2014, 13, pp.566 - 577. ⟨10.1038/nri3477⟩. ⟨hal-03045723⟩