European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

DENDRITIC CELLS IN REGENERATIVE MEDICINE: FROM THE VIEW OF METABOLOMICS

Junyi Liao, Chunhong Shao and Yi Zhun Zhu*

ABSTRACT

Dendritic cells (DCs) are professional antigen-presenting cells that are central regulators of the adaptive immune system. DCs process and present the captured antigen via major histocompatibility complexes (MHC), initiating the antigen-specific immune responses, which is crucial to the performance of biomaterials in regenerative medicine. The connection between metabolism and DC functions has been recently established. Though with decades of research, much detail surrounding DCs remains unclear. Metabolomics, focusing on small molecular metabolites and their functions in the organism, has been applied in research of DCs, providing new evidence of metabolites affecting the maturation of DCs. This new knowledge could provide some new insights into designing and modifying biomaterials, promoting the development of regenerative medicine.

Keywords: Dendritic cells; Regenerative medicine; Metabolomic studies.