Dr. Derek Cavatorta, researcher in equine immunology, needed to show the relationship between dendritic cell maturation and regional lymph anatomy. We developed a series of color illustrations to solve his problem. Immature dendritic cells (DCs) reside in peripheral tissues and function as sentinels of the immune system. They express receptors that allow them to capture antigen (illustrated here as red vaccine material) and recognize microbial patterns, pro-inflammatory cytokines, and tissue damage.
Upon activation by these signals, the DC undergoes a complicated maturation process that includes upregulation of CCR7. The DC can then migrate through extracellular matrix (pink) and enter nearby lymphatic capillaries that possess a discontinuous basement membrane (green). The DC follows CCL19 and CCL21 chemokine gradients down the afferent lymphatics to the sentinel lymph node for antigen presenation and T cell activation.
