News tagged with dendritic cells

Survival gene may be key to controlling HIV and hepatitis

(Medical Xpress)—A newly discovered gene that is essential for embryo survival could also hold the key to treating and potentially controlling chronic infections such as HIV, hepatitis and tuberculosis.

Immunology created Nov 26, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Study: Epstein Barr virus protects against autoimmune disease

To the surprise of investigating researchers, an animal model of Epstein Barr virus protected lupus-prone mice against development of the autoimmune disease. Earlier work had suggested that EBV might promote the development ...

Immunology created Apr 02, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Scientists identify novel pathway for T-cell activation in leprosy

UCLA researchers pinpointed a new mechanism that potently activates T-cells, the group of white blood cells that play a major role in fighting infections.

Medical research created Mar 25, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Researchers discover key to immune cell's 'internal guidance' system

University of British Columbia researchers have discovered the molecular pathway that enables receptors inside immune cells to find, and flag, fragments of pathogens trying to invade a host.

Immunology created Feb 05, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (6) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

If you don't snooze, do you lose? Wake-sleep patterns affect brain synapses

An ongoing lack of sleep during adolescence could lead to more than dragging, foggy teens, a University of Wisconsin-Madison study suggests.

Neuroscience created Oct 09, 2011 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (8) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Immune system discoveries earn Nobel in medicine (Update)

Three scientists won the Nobel Prize in medicine on Monday for discoveries about the immune system that opened new avenues for the treatment and prevention of infectious illnesses and cancer.

Medical research created Oct 03, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (7) | comments 1

Researchers identify HIV-inhibiting mechanism

Researchers at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have discovered a long-sought cellular factor that works to inhibit HIV infection of myeloid cells, a subset of white blood cells that display antigens and ...

HIV & AIDS created Jun 29, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Study finds interferon, one of the body's proteins, induces persistent viral infection

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have made a counterintuitive finding that may lead to new ways to clear persistent infection that is the hallmark of such diseases as AIDS, hepatitis B and hepatitis C.

Medical research created Apr 11, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

How the immune system positions its gatekeepers

(Medical Xpress)—For an immune response to get underway, an invading microbe must first be halted in the spleen, and then digested by immune cells known as 'dendritic cells', which guard specific portals. ...

Immunology created Mar 19, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Immune system molecule with hidden talents

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 ...

Immunology created Jan 22, 2013 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

New study confirms immune cells are guided by gradients

(Medical Xpress)—A group of researchers in Austria and Switzerland has for the first time proven that immune cells migrate along chemical concentration gradients. This process has long been assumed but ...

Immunology created Jan 18, 2013 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast report

Scientists discover how HIV virus gains access to carrier immune cells to spread infection

Scientists from the AIDS Research Institute IrsiCaixa have identified how HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, enters the cells of the immune system enabling it to be dispersed throughout an organism. The new ...

HIV & AIDS created Dec 18, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

A drug used to treat HIV might defuse deadly staph infections

A new study by NYU School of Medicine researchers suggests that an existing HIV drug called maraviroc could be a potential therapy for Staphylococcus aureus, a notorious and deadly pathogen linked to hundreds of thousands of hos ...

HIV & AIDS created Dec 14, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Intestinal immune cells play an unexpected role in immune surveillance of the bloodstream

A type of immune cell found in the small intestine plays a previously unsuspected role in monitoring antigens circulating in the bloodstream. The findings from a team of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers clarify ...

Immunology created Dec 13, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

One neuron has huge impact on brain behaviour

(Medical Xpress)—Researchers from Australia and the USA have made a unique discovery about how the brain computes sensory information.

Neuroscience created Nov 15, 2012 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (5) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Dendritic cell

Dendritic cells (DCs) are immune cells that form part of the mammalian immune system. Their main function is to process antigen material and present it on the surface to other cells of the immune system, thus functioning as antigen-presenting cells.

Dendritic cells are present in small quantities in tissues that are in contact with the external environment, mainly the skin (where there is a specialized dendritic cell type called Langerhans cells) and the inner lining of the nose, lungs, stomach and intestines. They can also be found in an immature state in the blood. Once activated, they migrate to the lymphoid tissues where they interact with T cells and B cells to initiate and shape the adaptive immune response. At certain development stages they grow branched projections, the dendrites, that give the cell its name. However, these do not have any special relation with neurons, which also possess similar appendages. Immature dendritic cells are also called veiled cells, in which case they possess large cytoplasmic 'veils' rather than dendrites.

For more information about Dendritic cell, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.