IL-2 mediates adjuvant effect of dendritic cells.

Research into the biology of dendritic cells (DCs) has shown that they play a central role in priming early and late immune responses. The recent finding that DCs produce interleukin-2 (IL-2) after microbial challenge suggests that this could be the mechanism by which DCs link innate and adaptive immunity. This hypothesis is supported also by the observation that murine cytomegalovirus, which is able to establish a persistent infection, can interfere with the ability of infected DCs to produce IL-2 and prime T cells.