Talin1 sets the stage for dendritic cell activation

Abstract

In this issue of JEM, Lim et al. provide exciting new evidence that talin1 plays an essential role in dendritic cell (DC) maturation and activation. Using conditional knockout mice, they demonstrate that talin1 promotes the formation of a preassembled TLR-Myddosome signaling complex in steady-state DCs but not macrophages. This may explain why DCs respond faster and more vigorously to TLR ligand binding than their closely related macrophages.