Spörri Group - Dendritic Cell Activation

Dendritic cells (DCs) are innate immune cells that can exist in two functional states, immature and mature. The current dogma states that antigen presentation by immature DCs leads to tolerance, and conversely, antigen presentation by mature DCs induces immunity. The decisive event that prompts the DCs’ transition from immature to mature is the recognition of microbes. Alternatively, DCs can adopt a mature phenotype when they sense inflammatory mediators secreted by other cells exposed to microbes. We are interested in the requirements for direct versus indirect activation of DCs in the induction of adaptive immune responses against viruses and bacteria. There is increasing evidence that such indirectly activated DCs are not immunogenic, but instead, they induce tolerance. We are investigating a potential role of indirectly activated DCs as powerful mediators of peripheral self-tolerance.

Research projects