Toll-like receptor 4 and Syk kinase shape dendritic cell-induced immune activation to major house dust mite allergens.

Background: House dust mite (HDM) is a major cause of respiratory allergic diseases. Dendritic cells (DCs) play a central role in orchestrating adaptive allergic immune responses. However, it remains unclear how DCs become activated by HDM.

Various Tastes of Sugar: The Potential of Glycosylation in Targeting and Modulating Human Immunity via C-Type Lectin Receptors.

C-type lectin receptors (CLRs) are important in several immune regulatory processes. These receptors recognize glycans expressed by host cells or by pathogens. Whereas pathogens are recognized through their glycans, which leads to protective immunity, aberrant cellular glycans are now increasingly recognized as disease-driving factors in cancer, auto-immunity, and allergy.