Biology of dendritic cells and Macrophages: From development to functions

Dendritic cells (DCs), monocytes and macrophages play crucial and distinct roles in tissue homeostasis and immunity, but also contribute to a broad spectrum of pathologies and are thus attractive therapeutic targets. Potential intervention strategies aiming at manipulation of these cells will require in-depth insights of their origins and the mechanisms that govern their homeostasis. The focus of Florent Ginhoux’s laboratory is to understand the ontogeny of DCs, monocytes and macrophages, their differentiation pathways and how their unique ontogeny dictates their immune functions. Their approach encompasses the integration of high dimensional platforms such as RNAseq, single cell transcriptome analysis using microfluidic RNA sequencing and deep immunophenotypic assessment using state of the art 18 parameters flow cytometry or Cytometry by Time-Of-Flight mass spectrometry (CyTOF). Such high density molecular profiling at the single level and at unprecedented dimensionality and complexity will provide new insights in the biology of DC, monocyte and macrophage cell populations.