Research progress on the role and mechanism of dendritic cells in cardiac injury repair

Myocardial infarction (MI) triggers acute inflammation due to the death of myocardial cells within and surrounding the infarcted area, which can exacerbate heart failure. This process is further influenced by subsequent adaptive immune responses and anti-cardiac autoimmunity. Studies have demonstrated that monocytes recruited from the bone marrow and spleen are crucial in the myocardial tissue repair process in adult mice following MI. The role of monocyte-derived macrophages in myocardial injury, repair, and remodeling has been extensively investigated. Recently, there has been a growing interest in the involvement of dendritic cells (DCs), specialized antigen-presenting cells, in myocardial repair and remodeling after acute MI. However, the specific mechanisms through which DCs operate remain incompletely understood. This article aims to review the current understanding of the role of DCs in cardiac injury repair and explore future research directions in this field.