Dendritic cell function in lupus: Independent contributors or victims of aberrant immune regulation

Abstract

Dendritic cells (DCs) represent an important component of the immune system connecting the innate and adaptive immune responses. They are able to trigger strong immunity as well as tolerance against certain antigens, and therefore it is obvious that they have a central role in the expression of immunological diseases. However, because DCs are sparse, heterogeneous and plastic, their exact role in complex autoimmune diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) remains not well defined. In this review, we make an attempt to summarize critically recent knowledge on the role of conventional DCs in the expression of autoimmunity and pathology in SLE.

Keywords::

• Dendritic cell
• SLE
• autoimmunity
• antigen presentation
• CD1a

Declaration of interest: This work was supported by the Mary Kirkland Center for Lupus Research at the Hospital for Special Surgery funded by Rheuminations. The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper