Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a complex heterogeneous fibrotic autoimmune disease with an
unknown exact etiology, and characterized by three hallmarks: fibrosis, vasculopathy, and
immune dysfunction. Dendritic cells (DCs) are specialized cells in pathogen sensing with
high potency of antigen presentation and capable of releasing mediators to shape the
immune response. Altered DCs distributions and their impaired functions may account for
their role in breaking the immune tolerance and driving inflammation in SSc, and the direct …