Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells and Infected Cells Form an Interferogenic Synapse Required for Antiviral Responses (Cell Host & Microbe)

Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) sense viruses by physically contacting infected cells. Assil et al. show that the contact site between pDCs and infected cells is a specialized platform, termed an interferogenic synapse, with polarized cellular components and machinery that efficiently transfer immunostimulatory RNA to induce antiviral responses in pDCs.