Dendritic cells

Abstract

In 1868, Paul Langerhans discovered the first immune cell during a study of the skin. The cells he discovered, dendritic cells (DCs), were named for their long projections that made them resemble the dendrites of nerve cells, which was the function Langerhans assigned to them at that time. The true role of DCs as powerful antigen-presenting cells (APC) was elucidated by Ralph Steinman in 1973, in studies that ultimately led to the award of a Nobel Prize in 2011. These cells play a vital role in our immune system, covering both innate and adaptive immune responses, and come from a variety of lineages and have various locations (Kuby et al., Immunology, 6th edn. W.H. Freeman, New York, 2007).