Dendritic cells (DCs) develop in the bone marrow from haematopoietic progenitors that have numerous shared characteristics between mice and humans. Human counterparts of mouse DC progenitors have been identified by their shared transcriptional signatures and developmental potential. New findings continue to revise models of DC ontogeny but it is well accepted that DCs can be divided into two main functional groups. Classical DCs include type 1 and type 2 subsets, which can detect different pathogens, produce specific cytokines and present antigens to polarize mainly naive CD8⁺ or CD4⁺ T cells, respectively. By contrast, the function of plasmacytoid DCs is largely innate and restricted to the detection of viral infections and the production of type I interferon. Here, we discuss genetic models of mouse DC development and function that have aided in correlating ontogeny with function, as well as how these findings can be translated to human DCs and their progenitors.

树突状细胞 (DC) 在骨髓中由造血祖细胞发育而来，这些细胞具有小鼠和人类之间的许多共同特征。小鼠 DC 祖细胞的人类对应物已通过它们共有的转录特征和发育潜力被鉴定出来。新的发现继续修正 DC 个体发育模型，但人们普遍认为 DC 可以分为两个主要功能组。经典DC包括1型和2型亚群，它们可以检测不同的病原体，产生特定的细胞因子并呈递抗原以分别主要极化初始CD8 ⁺或CD4 ⁺ T细胞。相比之下，浆细胞样 DC 的功能很大程度上是固有的，仅限于检测病毒感染和产生 I 型干扰素。在这里，我们讨论了小鼠 DC 发育和功能的遗传模型，这些模型有助于将个体发育与功能相关联，以及如何将这些发现转化为人类 DC 及其祖细胞。