Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) are a unique subset of dendritic cells specialised in secreting high levels of type I interferons. pDCs play a crucial role in antiviral immunity and have been implicated in the initiation and development of many autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. This review summarises the latest advances in recent years in several aspects of pDC biology, with special focus on pDC heterogeneity, pDC development via the lymphoid pathway, and newly identified proteins/pathways involved in pDC trafficking, nucleic acid sensing and interferon production. Finally, we also highlight the current understanding of pDC involvement in autoimmunity and alloreactivity, and opportunities for pDC‐targeting therapies in these diseases. These new insights have contributed to answers to several fundamental questions remaining in pDC biology and may pave the way to successful pDC‐targeting therapy in the future.

中文翻译：

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浆细胞样树突状细胞生物学及其在免疫介导疾病中的作用。

浆细胞样树突状细胞（pDC）是专门分泌高水平I型干扰素的树突状细胞的独特子集。pDC在抗病毒免疫中起着至关重要的作用，并与许多自身免疫和炎性疾病的发生和发展有关。这篇综述总结了近年来pDC生物学若干方面的最新进展，特别关注pDC异质性，通过淋巴途径的pDC发展以及与pDC交易，核酸传感和干扰素产生有关的新发现的蛋白质/途径。最后，我们还强调了当前对pDC参与自身免疫和同种反应性的了解，以及针对pDC靶向治疗这些疾病的机会。