Can dendritic cells perform phagocytosis?
Like macrophages and neutrophils, dendritic cells (DCs) are considered professional phagocytes. Even if the three cell types phagocytose parasites, bacteria, cell debris, or even intact cells very efficiently, the functional outcomes of the phagocytic event are quite different.
How do you assay phagocytosis?
The phagocytosis assay protocol uses pre-labeled Zymosan particles as a pathogen for triggering phagocytosis. The engulfed Zymosan particles react with a specific substrate to produce a colorimetric signal that can be detected by absorbance at 405 nm.
How are dendritic cells phagocytic?
Like macrophages, DCs are present in all peripheral tissues and accumulate at the sites of pathogen entry. DCs express a large array of phagocytic receptors and efficiently phagocytose pathogens.
What is the purpose of a phagocytosis assay?
In vitro systems interrogate the functions of these innate immune cells in response to stimuli via specific assays. The phagocytosis assay is an essential tool in characterizing the magnitude of monocytic cell activation. Several variations, such as pulse-chase assay, particle loading, and/or bead loading, exist.
What is the function of dendritic cells?
A special type of immune cell that is found in tissues, such as the skin, and boosts immune responses by showing antigens on its surface to other cells of the immune system.
Do dendritic cells perform antigen presentation?
Dendritic cells (DC) are professional antigen presenting cells, uniquely able to induce naïve T cell activation and effector differentiation. They are, likewise, involved in the induction and maintenance of immune tolerance in homeostatic conditions.
How is phagocytic activity measured?
However, the current method to evaluate phagocytic activity uses fluorescent latex beads or particles, such as Zymosan, subsequently counting the number of cells that ingested the beads under a microscope or analyzing the phagocytic rate with flow cytometry.
What are the four steps of phagocytosis?
Phagocytosis can be divided into four main steps: (i) recognition of the target particle, (ii) signaling to activate the internalization machinery, (iii) phagosome formation, and (iv) phagolysosome maturation.
How do you test phagocytic function?
Phagocytic activity can be assessed either by counting individual cells using a fluorescence microscope or measuring fluorescence intensity using a flow cytometer.
What do dendritic cells look like?
Dendritic cells (DCs), named for their probing, ‘tree-like’ or dendritic shapes, are responsible for the initiation of adaptive immune responses and hence function as the ‘sentinels’ of the immune system. Paul Langerhans first described DCs in human skin in 1868 but thought they were cutaneous nerve cells.