Clonal analysis of human dendritic cell progenitor using a stromal cell culture

Different dendritic cell (DC) subsets co-exist in humans and coordinate the immune response. Having a short life, DCs must be constantly replenished from their progenitors in the bone marrow through hematopoiesis. Identification of a DC-restricted progenitor in mouse has improved our understanding of how DC lineage diverges from myeloid and lymphoid lineages. However, identification of the DC-restricted progenitor in humans has not been possible because a system that simultaneously nurtures differentiation of human DCs, myeloid and lymphoid cells, is lacking. Here we report a cytokine and stromal cell culture that allows evaluation of CD34+ progenitor potential to all three DC subsets as well as other myeloid and lymphoid cells, at a single cell level. Using this system, we show that human granulocyte–macrophage progenitors are heterogeneous and contain restricted progenitors to DCs.