Interactions with self-major histocompatibility complex molecules on dendritic cells (DCs) are important for the survival of mature CD4+T cells. We have followed the DC-mediated signal from the T cell surface to the nucleus and identified a pattern of activation that correlates with increased in vitro survival. This response is induced exclusively by DCs and is likely associated with a modulation of the T cell activation threshold. We have also found that DC-mediated activation results in antigen-independent cytokine gene expression, which points to a new role for DCs in shaping the cytokine milieu. Such antigen-independent activation of T cells may play a role in protective immunity, but may also induce and perpetuate autoimmune states such as multiple sclerosis.
CITATION STYLE
Kondo, T., Cortese, I., Markovic-Plese, S., Wandinger, K. P., Carter, C., Brown, M., … Martin, R. (2001). Dendritic cells signal T cells in the absence of exogenous antigen. Nature Immunology, 2(10), 932–938. https://doi.org/10.1038/ni711
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