The renal mononuclear phagocytic system, conventionally composed of macrophages (Mø)
and dendritic cells (DCs), plays a central role in health and disease of the kidney.
Overlapping definitions of renal DCs and Mø, stemming from historically separate research
tracks and the lack of experimental tools to specifically study the roles of these cells in vivo,
have generated confusion and controversy, however, regarding their immunologic function
in the kidney. This brief review provides an appraisal of the current state of knowledge of the …