Complementary diversification of dendritic cells and innate lymphoid cells

Dendritic cells (DCs) are professional antigen presenting cells conventionally thought to mediate cellular adaptive immune responses. Recent studies have led to the recognition of a non-redundant role for DCs in orchestrating innate immune responses, and in particular, for DC subset-specific interactions with innate lymphoid cells (ILCs). Recently recognized as important effectors of early immune responses, ILCs develop into subsets which mirror the transcriptional and cytokine profile of their T cell subset counterparts. DC diversification into functional subsets provides for modules of pathogen sensing and cytokine production that direct pathogen-appropriate ILC and T cell responses. This review focuses on the recent advances in the understanding of DC development, and their function in orchestrating the innate immune modules.