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New publication in Immunity

Our latest research has just been published in the prestigious journal Immunity.

Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor controls monocyte differentiation into dendritic cells versus macrophages


How monocyte fate is directed towards monocyte-derived macrophages (mo-Mac) or monocyte-derived DC (mo-DC) and which transcription factors control these differentiation pathways has remained unclear. Using a novel in vitro culture model that we have developped, yielding human mo-DC and mo-Mac that closely resemble those found in vivo in inflammatory fluids, we show that IRF4 and MafB are critical regulators of monocyte differentiation into mo-DC and mo-Mac, respectively. In addition, we found that activation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) promotes mo-DC differentiation, while impairing differentiation into mo-Mac. Our results establish mo-DC and mo-Mac as two bona fide cell lineages, controlled by distinct specifying transcription factors and show that AhR acts as a molecular switch for monocyte fate specification in response to micro-environmental factors.

You can read the article here: http://www.cell.com/immunity/fulltext/S1074-7613(17)30374-6.
Published on : 19/09/2017