Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University in St. Louis, School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
Nat Immunol. 2012 Dec;13(12):1145-54. doi: 10.1038/ni.2467. Epub 2012 Nov 16.
Dendritic cells (DCs) are essential mediators of innate and adaptive immune responses. Study of these critical cells has been complicated by their similarity to other hematopoietic lineages, particularly monocytes and macrophages. Progress has been made in three critical areas of DC biology: the characterization of lineage-restricted progenitors in the bone marrow, the identification of cytokines and transcription factors required during differentiation, and the development of genetic tools for the visualization and depletion of DCs in vivo. Collectively, these advances have clarified the nature of the DC lineage and have provided novel insights into their function during health and disease.
树突状细胞 (DCs) 是先天和适应性免疫反应的重要介质。这些关键细胞与其他造血谱系（尤其是单核细胞和巨噬细胞）相似，这使得对其研究变得复杂。在 DC 生物学的三个关键领域取得了进展：骨髓中谱系限制祖细胞的特征、分化过程中所需细胞因子和转录因子的鉴定，以及用于体内可视化和耗尽 DC 的遗传工具的开发。这些进展共同阐明了 DC 谱系的性质，并为其在健康和疾病中的功能提供了新的见解。
