Identification of a new mechanism for bacterial uptake at mucosal surfaces, which is mediated by dendritic cells.

Dendritic cells are potent activators of the immune response. They reside in tissues which interface the external environment, but we shall see that they do not perform only a passive role by monitoring microorganisms that have entered the body. Rather, DC can actively participate to microbial entry across mucosal surfaces by creeping between epithelial cells and by internalizing bacteria via their dendrites.