1. Dendritic cells are antigen presenting cells that express pattern recognition receptors including toll-like receptors. 2. Dendritic cells play key roles in immunity through TLR-mediated antigen recognition, activation and migration, and antigen presentation to activate adaptive immunity. 3. TLR signaling induces cytokine secretion and phosphorylation cascades that upregulate co-stimulatory molecules and MHC II, allowing dendritic cells to present antigens to naive T cells and induce both CD4 and CD8 T cell activation and differentiation.