Dendritic Cells Can Cure Inflammatory Disorder

May, 2021 - By WMR

Dendritic cells, a common component of the cellular immune mechanism takes care of the surveillance of the pathogen in the body.

The people’s immune system is one of the most highly decorated organ system with a lot of functional layering. It has a subdivision of highest order having both cell-mediated as well as humoral (liquid) system. When a foreign material or a pathogen enters in to the body, the immune gets altered and by a series of biochemical signaling reaction they assemble all the necessary and specific soldiers from both cell mediated and humoral system. Same type of response occurs when tumor formation occurs inside the body.

Dendritic Cells, during their discovery was categorized as the component of the human nervous system. Although that notion was completely discarded as the scientist discovered their actual mechanism of action. These cells, not only is responsible for the 24/7 surveillance of the body towards infiltration of several harmful pathogenic organisms but also they contain a signaling reaction with which, they alert the other system to diffuse the pathogen as a whole. Due to their characteristic shape, they are able to digest and thereby act as an Antigen Presenting cell (APC), for the pathogen’s degeneration.

However in a recent study it is seen that the dendritic cells after their action doesn’t die at the first place, instead some population stimulate certain parts of the immune system to be ready to fight several viruses or cancer cells. With this pandemic going on for the past one year, this finding pose great importance which, can be used in the treatment and also in the vaccine preparation for the coronavirus affected patients.

An individual’s innate immune system, being sensitized to a particular virus, exhibit a lot of function like phagocytosis, release of cytokines etc. Adaptive immunity in response to the innate function produces all important B-cells and T-cells, to manage the pathogen. The study showed a bridging of the Adaptive and Innate system by the Dendritic Cells. Thus this study, not only informs about the conventional function of the Dendritic Cells, but also about curing different types of inflammation based disorder, by either vaccine preparation or targeted therapy.