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Dendritic cells play a key role in the mammalian immune system. These cells are present throughout the human body and are known to capture foreign bodies, or antigens, using extendable "arms" called dendrites. Once captured, dendritic cells present these substances to immune T cells, thereby initiating an immune response. Dendritic cells are responsive to their environment. For instance, dendritic cells in the intestine's mucosa (inner layer) capture harmful bacteria by extending their dendrites through the epithelium (outermost layer) and into the intestinal lumen (inner space). Researchers found short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) produced by intestinal bacteria are responsible for initiating the...

More than a year after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, several vaccines have been authorized thanks to unprecedented worldwide research efforts. These first-generation vaccines bring great hope and are a mainstay in fighting the virus. However, questions persist regarding the duration of the immune response or the need for a booster. Also, controlling the pandemic means vaccinating billions of people. Yet manufacturing sufficient doses to protect the entire world population represents a considerable challenge. That is why vaccine research is still ongoing in order to develop additional candidate vaccines and to continue to meet these various challenges. Researchers from...

Dendritic cells, shown here in an electron microscopic picture, need antibodies produced by B cells for their maturation. Dendritic cells, or DCs for short, perform a vital role for the immune system: They engulf pathogens, break them down into their component parts, and then display the pieces on their surface. This in turn signals other immune cells capable of recognizing these pieces to help kick-start their own default program for fighting off the invaders. In order to do their job, the DCs are dependent upon the support from a class of immune system molecules, which have never before been associated...

New research may guide creation of targeted, more effective vaccinesBoston, Mass. – A new understanding of a certain cell in the immune system may help guide scientists in creating better flu vaccines, report researchers from the Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine and the Immune Disease Institute at Children's Hospital Boston (PCMM/IDI). Reporting online March 21 in Nature Immunology, they show, for the first time, that white blood cells known as resident dendritic cells (DCs) capture flu viruses and show them to B-lymphocytes, another white blood cell that recognizes germs and launches an antibody attack. Harnessing this previously unknown function...