*2.3.3 Dendritic cells*

DCs play an important role as a bridge between the innate and adaptive immune systems (reviewed in [64]). In addition to phagocytosing *Leishmania* parasites and infected apoptotic neutrophils [45], DCs are important in the maintenance of immunity and in rapid stimulation of the adaptive immune response during the early stage of infection. DCs present *Leishmania*-specific antigen to naïve T cells and promoting their differentiation. The migration of DCs to the lymph node (where they activate T cells) is vital to establish an efficient adaptive immune response. *Leishmania* has evolved strategies to inhibit interaction between DCs and T cells by reducing DC migration [64, 65]. It was demonstrated that *Leishmania* was capable of blocking CCR2 (expressed on DC surface) thereby impairing the cells' ability to migrate, however the mechanisms used by the parasite remain elusive [65].
