Review of mouse and human dendritic cell subsets

Abstract

Dendritic cells are specialized antigen-presenting cells that initiate and orient immune responses. Numerous studies in mice and humans have shown that dendritic cells are heterogeneous and comprise several subsets that can be distinguished by their surface phenotype, ontogeny, and molecular signature. This review gives an overview of mouse and human dendritic cell subsets and their defining features and summarizes the current knowledge of dendritic cell subsets’ functional specialization in terms of antigen presentation.