Circulating dendritic cells and interferon-alpha production in patients with tuberculosis: correlation with clinical outcome and treatment response.

Dendritic cells (DC) have been characterized recently as having an important role in the initiation and control of immunological response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. Blood DC have been subdivided into myeloid (mDC) and plasmacytoid (pDC) subsets, on the basis of differences in phenotype markers and function. Little is known about the enumeration and functional evaluation of circulating DC in patients with tuberculosis and their correlation with clinical outcome during the course of anti-tuberculous treatment.