The Nature and Functions of Follicular Dendritic Cells

Recent years have seen remarkable progress in our understanding of the nature of the cell interactions involved in the induction of various types of immune response. In particular, the concept of accessory cells has become firmly entrenched in cellular immunology, with the realisation that there are several different types of accessory cell, mainly within the specialised architecture of the lymphoid system, but also elsewhere in other tissues in the body. Apart from macrophages, which perform several functions, each has a specialised role in immune induction.