Costimulation molecule expression and subset distribution of blood dendritic cells in normal children and newly diagnosed pediatric leukemia and lymphoma patients.

Objective: To characterize dendritic cell (DC) numbers, subset distribution, phenotype, and costimulation molecule expression in a normal pediatric population and in a lymphoblastic malignant pretherapy pediatric population. DC are potent antigen-presenting cells and are crucial for initiating specific immune responses.

Materials And Methods: We first analyzed peripheral blood samples of healthy pediatric controls (n=72).