Dendritic cell

Dendritic cell
Dendritic cells in skin
Artistic rendering of the surface of a human dendritic cell illustrating sheet-like processes that fold back onto the membrane surface. Some researchers believe that these sheets, when exposed to HIV, entrap viruses in the vicinity and focus them to contact zones with T cells targeted for infection. These studies were carried out using ion abrasion scanning electron microscopy, a new[when?] technology the NIH has been developing and applying for 3D cellular imaging.
Details
System	Immune system
Identifiers
Latin	cellula dendritiformis
MeSH	D003713
TH	H1.00.01.0.00038
FMA	83036
Anatomical terminology [edit on Wikidata]

A dendritic cell (DC) is an antigen-presenting cell (also known as an accessory cell) of the mammalian immune system. A DC's main function is to process antigen material and present it on the cell surface to the T cells of the immune system. They act as messengers between the innate and adaptive immune systems.^[1]

Dendritic cells are present in tissues that are in contact with the body's external environment, such as the skin (where there is a specialized dendritic cell type called the Langerhans cell), and the inner lining of the nose, lungs, stomach and intestines. They can also be found in an immature and mature state in the blood. Once activated, they migrate to the lymph nodes, where they interact with T cells and B cells to initiate and shape the adaptive immune response. At certain development stages they grow branched projections, the dendrites, that give the cell its name (δένδρον or déndron being Greek for 'tree'). While similar in appearance to the dendrites of neurons, these are structures distinct from them. Immature dendritic cells are also called veiled cells, as they possess large cytoplasmic 'veils' rather than dendrites.^{[citation needed]}