The role of dendritic cells in the immune response to Salmonella.

Dendritic cells (DC) are an important link between the innate and adaptive immune response and are key antigen presenting cells in triggering specific immunity. This review summarizes the role of DC and the DC subsets during infection with the facultative intracellular bacterium Salmonella. The capacity of DC to stimulate Salmonella-specific T cells by direct and indirect presentation of Salmonella antigens as well as the cytokine production capacity of DC upon Salmonella encounter are discussed. In addition, changes in the number, localization and cytokine production by splenic DC subsets during infection are reviewed. Studying the function of DC during Salmonella infection provides insight into the capacity of this phagocytic antigen presenting cell to initiate and modulate an immune response during bacterial infection.