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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2017 Jan 1.
Published in final edited form as: Cell Tissue Res. 2015 Sep 4;363(1):97–104. doi: 10.1007/s00441-015-2270-0

Figure 1. Simplified classification of mouse mononuclear phagocytes based on their ontogeny.

Figure 1

According to recent fate mapping studies, most tissue-resident macrophages (Mϕ) arise from erythro-myeloid progenitors (EMPs) in the embryo. They self-renew in adult tissues independently of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). In contrast, dendritic cell (DC) subsets originate from a common DC precursor (CDP) that derives from HSCs in the bone marrow. CDPs progressively differentiate to give rise to pre-DCs and, ultimately, classical DCs (cDCs) and plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs). In the steady state intestine, and following inflammation, circulating monocytes differentiate into monocyte-derived DCs (moDCs) and macrophages (mo Mϕ). Therefore, most peripheral organs are populated by various subsets of Mϕ and DCs with distinct origins and phenotypes. Ultimately, tissue mononuclear phagocytes are shaped by their microenvironment in order to exert organ-specific functions. Currently, the ontogeny of epididymal DCs and Mϕ is unknown.