Differential post-translational modification of CD63 molecules during maturation of human dendritic cells.

The capacity of dendritic cells to initiate T cell responses is related to their ability to redistribute MHC class II molecules from the intracellular MHC class II compartments to the cell surface. This redistribution occurs during dendritic cell development as they are converted from an antigen capturing, immature dendritic cell into an MHC class II-peptide presenting mature dendritic cell. During this maturation, antigen uptake and processing are down-regulated and peptide-loaded class II complexes become expressed in a stable manner on the cell surface.