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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2014 May 6.
Published in final edited form as: Semin Immunol. 2011 Sep 15;23(5):388–397. doi: 10.1016/j.smim.2011.08.009

Figure 2. Stages of DC development.

Figure 2

DCs derive from bone marrow–resident hematopoietic progenitors. Following differentiation of the hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) into the common myeloid progenitor (CMP), alternate myeloid fates are extinguished in the subsequent macrophage-dendritic progenitor (MDP). Commitment to the DC lineage occurs at the next stage termed the common dendritic progenitor (CDP). The CDP has the potential to develop into both plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDC) and conventional dendritic cells (cDC). This choice occurs as the CDP transitions into either of the intermediates for each lineage: the pre-pDC (not shown) or the pre-cDC. pDCs complete their maturation in the bone marrow and then circulate to secondary lymphoid organs through the blood. In contrast, pre-cDCs seed both lymphoid and non-lymphoid organs and undergo one final fate choice into either CD8+ or CD4+ DCs; or CD103+ or CD11b+ equivalents in the periphery, respectively. The developmental similarity between lymphoid-organ and peripheral DC subsets has been shown using mice deficient in the transcription factors Id2, IRF8, and Batf3. Additionally, monocytes can give rise to DCs in inflammatory settings although the transcriptional mechanism for this process is poorly characterized.