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Understanding Dendritic Cells

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By Armand Zeiders


You probably know that the human body, like all other organisms, is comprised of cells. There are many different types of cells in the human body and each one has a specific function. There are actually hundreds of different types of cells that exist in our bodies. One type with many research applications is the dendritic cell. Here is some information about this specific type of cell.

Dendritic cells are known as accessory cells or antigen-presenting cells. These cells are part of our immune system. Their primary function is to pass information on to other cells in our body. For instance, the dendritic cells will come into contact with our skin or nose and encounter a foreign substance. The dendritic cells will then pass on the information to the white blood cells which can then create a response to this foreign entity.

While dendritic cells can help the body fight diseases, you also sometimes dendritic cells being used by some diseases as a means to transport it's self in order to infect the immune system of the body. One virus which uses this tactic is the HIV wherein it attaches itself to dendritic cells and then began an attack on the cells which it ends up transported into. Although dendritic cells are known to aid diseases in attacking the body it has also been known to have the ability to fight other types of diseases.

For example, multiple sclerosis or MS is a highly debilitating disorder that some scientists believe is caused when these dendritic cells pass on the disease's information to our T cells. These T cells are part of our immune system. Scientists studying MS have found that the dendritic cells in MS patients to be abnormally functioning.

One of the goals of scientists and researchers is to create a successful treatment that specifically targets these dendritic cells. If a treatment could alter the ability of the cells to carry the disease to the immune system, it could be a way to slow, stop or prevent progression of the disease.

Scientists studying these cells often recruit services from biotechnology firms, such as Primm Biotech. These firms can not only help advance dendritic cells studies, but they also offer services such as custom monoclonal antibody service, custom polyclonal antibody service, n-terminal sequencing services and much more.




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