🌐 Dendritic Cells – The Scouts

Every army needs scouts — brave messengers who find the enemy and alert the commanders. In your immune system, that role belongs to dendritic cells.

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🔬 What are Dendritic Cells?

• Specialized antigen-presenting cells (APCs).

• Found in tissues that contact the outside world (skin, nose, lungs, stomach, intestines).

• Named for their branch-like “dendrites” which they use to interact with other cells.

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🌐 Role in the Immune System

• Detect invaders 🕵️: Capture and process antigens (bits of bacteria, viruses, or fungi).

• Scout messengers 📡: Travel to the lymph nodes and present antigens to T-helper cells.

• Bridge builders 🔗: Connect the innate immune system (fast but general) to the adaptive immune system (slower but specific).

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⚔️ Why “The Scouts”?

• Like scouts in an army, dendritic cells don’t do most of the fighting themselves.

• Their job is to warn the commanders (T-helper cells) and start a targeted counterattack.

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📝 GCSE & A-Level Revision Notes

• ✅ Dendritic cells are antigen-presenting cells (APCs).

• ✅ Found in tissues exposed to the environment.

• ✅ Present antigens to T-cells in lymph nodes.

• ✅ Bridge innate and adaptive immunity.

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📚 Exam Tip

If you see the phrase “bridge between innate and adaptive immunity” → think Dendritic Cells.

💡 Mnemonic: D = Dispatchers → dendritic cells “dispatch” the message to T-cells.

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🔗 Related

• 🧬 Immune System Cells – Main Guide

• 📢 T-Helper Cells – The Commanders

• 🍽️ Macrophages – The Big Eaters