objectives of this project are: (A) to identify the precise molecular bases that explain why IL-12p70 is produced at high levels by slanDC, and (B) how TLR signaling and IFNγ interact to regulate the survival of slanDC, which have never been explored to date. A further objective (C) that I plan to investigate relates to the expression of chemokines and chemokine receptors by slanDC (upon stimulation with TLR ligands) and how it differs from that of other DC subsets. In fact, slanDC infiltrate inflammatory sites where they frequently co-localize with other cell types, including polymorphonuclear neutrophil granulocytes. However, the mechanisms regulating the recruitment of slanDC are obscure as well as their potential to induce the migration of other cell types.
