Distinct Strategies Employed by Dendritic Cells and Macrophages in Restricting Mycobacterium tuberculosis Infection: Different Philosophies but Same Desire

Dendritic cells (DCs) and macrophages (Mϕs) are professional antigen-presenting cells(APCs) that can efficiently phagocytose Mycobacterium tuberculosis(Mtb), the etiological agent of tuberculosis (TB). It is quite interesting to mention here that DCs and Mϕs use distinct strategies to combat and eliminate Mtb. Similarly, Mtb employs different mechanisms to counteract the action of DCs and Mϕs. Mϕs are evolved with specialized, innate, defensive machinery to restrict growth of Mtb at the initial phase of infection. However, DCs are more endowed toward initiating adap