Tissue-Specific Diversity and Functions of Conventional Dendritic Cells.

Dendritic cells (DCs) are versatile controllers of immunity, which sense infection or tissue damage and, accordingly, initiate innate and adaptive effector responses. In recent years, it has become evident that DCs exist as an independent hematopoietic lineage comprising several developmentally distinct and functionally specialized subsets that are strategically located in all organs to defend the organism against invading pathogens. Here, we review the diversity of DC subtypes found across tissues and discuss our current understanding of the tissue-specific functions of these cell types.