Pechhold Klaus, Koczwara Kerstin
NIDDK-Diabetes Branch, NIH, 10 Center Drive, Building 10-CRC, Room 5W-5888, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
Curr Diab Rep. 2008 Apr;8(2):107-13. doi: 10.1007/s11892-008-0020-3.
The biology and properties of dendritic cells (DCs) have been intensely studied in the research areas of infectious diseases, tumor immunology, and vaccine development. This unique subset of immune cells has recently also moved to the center of interest for basic and clinical research in autoimmunity, owing not only to the extraordinary importance of DCs in the initiation and sustenance of adaptive immune responses, but also to more recent discoveries about their profound ability to control and downregulate ongoing T-cell responses. We review current progress of using DCs in mice for induction and propagation of autoimmune T-cell responses and their therapeutic potential to dampen or even stop beta-cell-specific autoimmunity. Finally, we offer our perspective on how basic research progress in DC technology, mostly from mouse models, may translate into emerging diagnostic and therapeutic applications for human type 1 diabetes.
在传染病、肿瘤免疫学和疫苗开发等研究领域，树突状细胞（DCs）的生物学特性和性质已得到深入研究。这一独特的免疫细胞亚群最近也成为自身免疫性疾病基础和临床研究的关注焦点，这不仅是因为DCs在适应性免疫反应的启动和维持中具有极其重要的作用，还因为最近发现它们具有控制和下调正在进行的T细胞反应的强大能力。我们综述了在小鼠中利用DCs诱导和增殖自身免疫性T细胞反应的当前进展，以及它们在减轻甚至阻止β细胞特异性自身免疫方面的治疗潜力。最后，我们就DC技术的基础研究进展（主要来自小鼠模型）如何转化为人类1型糖尿病的新兴诊断和治疗应用提出我们的观点。
