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Sentinel cells refer to cells in the body's first line of defense, which embed themselves in tissues such as skin.[1] Sentinel cells represent diverse array of cell types with the capability to monitor the presence of exogenous or potentially harmful particles and play a crucial role in recognizing and sampling signs of infection or abnormal cellular activity and/or death. Encountering such stimuli is initiating the innate immune response.[2] Their ability to recognize injurious or dangerous material is mediated by specialized pattern recognition receptors (PRR) and possess specialized function to prime naive T cells upon pathogen recognition.[3]
Sentinel cells can refer to specific antigen-presenting cells, such as:
Sentinel cells can also refer to cells that are normally not specialized antigen-presenting cells such as:[1]
Sometimes tissue cells not part of the immune system such as are also referred to as Sentinel cells:[1]