“Dendritic cells are messengers. I imagine them blowing loud sirens or ringing bells, alarming
“Dendritic cells are messengers. I imagine them blowing loud sirens or ringing bells, alarming all the warriors to prepare for battle.” What you need to know about this warrior -What does a dendritic cell look like?Dendritic cells have long finger like processes, like the dendrites of nerve cells, which give them their name.What is the function of a dendritic cell?They take up particulate matter by phagocytosis and also continually ingest large amounts of the extracellular fluid and its contents by a process known as macropinocytosis.They degrade the pathogens they take up and present them to T lymphocytes, which activates them and for this reason dendritic cells are also called antigen-presenting cells (APCs).Dendritic cells form a crucial link between the innate immune response and the adaptive immune response. (Just like the messenger is a link between the border and the military base!)Did you know?Dendritic cells express a lot of MHC class II molecules making them very efficient in antigen presentation.It’s like they were born to present antigens!Related posts:Which cells have which MHC class?Why do cells have MHC molecules?HLA, MHC & CD T cell mnemonic -- source link
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