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• Skin epithelia and stromal cells provide dendritic cells with positioning cues and access to antigen.

• IRF4-dependent dendritic cells have a prominent role in antigen uptake and surveillance.

• Immunological niches establish cytokine microenvironments in skin.

• The study of dendritic cells in skin is revealing new functions for these cells.

The skin is inhabited by several immune cell populations that serve as a first line of defence against pathogen invasion. Amongst these populations are dendritic cells, which play an essential sentinel function by taking up antigen or infectious agents and transporting them to the lymph node for T cell recognition and the priming of immune responses.

In this review, we briefly summarise recent advances showing how skin dendritic cells are connected to a network of epithelial and stromal cells, which provide structural support, growth factors, spatial cues, contact with the …