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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2017 Oct 26.
Published in final edited form as: Science. 2015 May 21;348(6237):aaa6566. doi: 10.1126/science.aaa6566

Figure 1. The development of ILCs.

Figure 1

The development of ILCs from common lymphoid progenitors (CLPs) requires Id2-mediated suppression of alternative lymphoid cell fates that generate B and T cells. Factors present in the microenvironment, such as Notch ligands, bone morphogenic proteins (BMPs) and cytokines, as well as the circadian rhythm, control expression of Nfil3, Gata3 and Id2, which determine the progression towards the ILC fate. Distinct precursors give rise to NK cells and ILCs (which, unlike NK cells, are non-cytotoxic), while the transcription factor PLZF further divides the progeny of ChILPs into the PLZF-dependent ILC1s, ILC2s and ILC3s, and PLZF-independent LTi cells (although LTi cells tend to be grouped as ILC3s) required for the development of lymph nodes, Peyer’s patches and ILFs. The maturation of ILC precursors into mature ILCs may occur outside of primary lymphoid tissues, in ways similar to the maturation of naïve T helper cells into Th1, Th2, Th17 and Treg cells, and in response to a variety of signals produced by the tissue microenvironment.