Decrease in circulating plasmacytoid dendritic cells during short-term systemic normobaric hypoxia.

Background: During exposure to high altitude, the immune system is altered. During hypoxia, an increase in interleukin (IL)-6 and high sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), and an increase in natural killer cells and decrease in T cells in blood was shown. However, the impact of hypoxia on dendritic cells has not been investigated yet.