In summary, in response to viral stimulations in vitro, or in vivo upon stimulation with synthetic TLR ligands and targeted delivery of antigens through antibody coupling, pDCs have been demonstrated to have a strong ability to cross-present exogenous antigens for the activation of naïve CD8 T cells. In addition, pDCs also play a key role in linking innate and adaptive immunity through their production of immunoregulatory cytokines or chemokines which can promote the recruitment and activation of cDCs and lymphocytes. However, the importance of these functions in vivo for the control of infections with herpesviruses still remains to be established.