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Review
. 2025 Mar 4:16:1556992.
doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1556992. eCollection 2025.

Multifaceted, unique role of CD11c in leukocyte biology

Lifei Hou #  1   2 , Sophia Koutsogiannaki #  1   2 , Koichi Yuki  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Multifaceted, unique role of CD11c in leukocyte biology

Lifei Hou et al. Front Immunol. .

Abstract

CD11c is widely known as a dendritic cell surface marker but its non-dendritic cell expression profiles as well as its functional role have been gradually delineated. As a member of leukocyte-specific β2 integrin family, CD11c forms a heterodimer with CD18. CD11c/CD18 takes different conformations, which dictate its ligand binding. Here we reviewed CD11c current state of art, in comparison to its sister proteins CD11a, CD11b, and CD11d, illustrating its unique feature in leukocyte biology.

Keywords: B cell; CD11c; T cell; complement; dendritic cell; integrin; neutrophil.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The author(s) declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Conformational change of the I domain containing integrin. Red indicates the αI domain. Yellow indicates a ligand. (A) Closed conformation (inactive, resting status), (B) Closed-head conformation (Intermediate state), (C) Open-head conformation (active state). The ligand binds to integrin at open-head conformation. TM, transmembrane.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Neutrophil maturation and differentiation. In the figure, band neutrophils are considered immature neutrophils and segmented neutrophils are mature neutrophils. Neutrophils prior to band neutrophils are called pre-neutrophils. Mature neutrophils are primarily released into the peripheral blood. However, under stress and/or infection, immature neutrophils are also released into the circulation.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The role of CD11c on DCs in DC functions, T cell development in the thymus, and B cell proliferation and survival. (A) CD11c is involved in the uptake of CD47- cells by DCs, (B) Progenitor cells will be mobilized from the bone marrow to the thymus then T cells are developed in the thymus. DCs are involved in negative selection. (C) Macrophage inhibitory factor (MIF) is produced by DCs. MIF binds to B cells and induce their proliferation/survival.
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