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Updated: Feb 15, 2026

Mouse Kidney Transplantation: Models of Allograft Rejection
Published on: October 11, 2014
Plasmacytoid dendritic cells: important players in human kidney allograft rejection
Barbara Reich1, Susanne F Viehmann1, Christian Kurts1
1Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität, Institute of Experimental Immunology, Bonn, NRW, Germany.
Abstract:
Plasmacytoid dendritic cells are a unique dendritic cell subset that bridges innate and adaptive immune responses. They release high amounts of type I interferons in response to viral and bacterial infection. Plasmacytoid dendritic cells are thought to act as key players in renal allograft rejection, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. Ruben et al. now demonstrate that granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor produced by renal epithelial cells is important to induce plasmacytoid dendritic cell maturation and indirect antigen presentation triggering allogeneic immune responses.
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