Endocytosis by antigen presenting cells: dendritic cells are as endocytically active as other antigen presenting cells.

Endocytosis by antigen presenting cells: dendritic cells are as endocytically active as other antigen presenting cells.

Although dendritic cells are the most potent of all antigen presenting cells, they have paradoxically been regarded as having only a minimal capacity for endocytosis, which is a crucial step in antigen processing prior to presentation. Previous studies of dendritic cells, which are only available in small numbers, have been restricted to measurement of long-term endocytosis and so have stressed...

Dendritic cells as specialized antigen-presenting cells.

Renewing interest in cancer immunotherapy reflects the excellent results that have been obtained in animal models and the promising results in early clinical trails with dendritic cell (DC) based approaches. The central role that DCs play in the initiation of an immune response raises the possibility of using them to trigger specific anti-tumor immunity. In addition, deeper knowledge of DC biol...

Dendritic cells are potent antigen-presenting cells for microbial superantigens

Dendritic cells are a small subset of human blood mononuclear cells that are potent stimulators of several T cell functions. Here we show they are 10-50-fold more potent than monocytes or B cells in inducing T cell responses to a panel of superantigens. Furthermore, dendritic cells can present femtomolar concentrations of superantigen to T cells even at numbers where other antigen-presenting ce...

B Lymphocytes as Antigen-Presenting Cells

An Overview of B-1 Cells as Antigen-Presenting Cells

The role of B cells as antigen-presenting cells (APCs) has been extensively studied, mainly in relation to the activation of memory T cells. Considering the B cell subtypes, the role of B-1 cells as APCs is beginning to be explored. Initially, it was described that B-1 cells are activated preferentially by T-independent antigens. However, some reports demonstrated that these cells are also invo...