The Role of Dendritic Cells in Renal Inflammation

Abstract

Dendritic cells are central orchestrators of the immune response. They communicate with both innate and adaptive immune systems and can aggravate or attenuate renal inflammation depending on the microenvironment and the stage of disease. This review summarizes current knowledge regarding the role of dendritic cells in renal inflammation and highlights the recent advances in understanding their function in the development and resolution of various experimental and human kidney diseases. We anticipate that recent advances in this research area will yield in the near future novel therapeutic strategies targeting DCs to control acute and chronic renal injury.