Role of dendritic cells in host immunity to herpes simplex virus and possible mechanisms / 中华微生物学和免疫学杂志

ABSTRACT

Herpes simplex virus (HSV) is a double-stranded DNA virus that can infect skin and mucosal epithelial cells. It can establish latency in sensory neurons and sporadically reactivate from these cells. In order to reply to attacks of the host and evade the immunity surveillance during infection and reactivation, HSV has developed a multitude of clever strategies. Dendritic cells (DCs), one of the most important antigen-presenting cells (APC), can recognize pathogens at the infection sites and activate specific T cells, thus playing a crucial role in the host immunity against virus infection. This paper reviewed the mechanism of the host immunity against HSV, especially the role of DCs in HSV-induced immune responses and the future research perspective.