Characterization of distinct conventional and plasmacytoid dendritic cell-committed precursors in murine bone marrow

The developmental pathways and differentiation relationship of dendritic cell (DC) subsets remain unclear. We report that murine CD11c(+)MHC II(-) bone marrow cells, which are immediate DC precursors of CD8 alpha(+), CD8 alpha(-), and B220(+) DC in vivo, can be separated into B220(+) and B220(-) DC precursor subpopulations. Purified B220(-) DC precursors expand, and generate exclusively mature CD11c(+)CD11b(+)B220(-) DC in vitro and after adoptive transfer. B220(+) DC precursors, which resemble plasmacytoid pre-DC, have a lower proliferative potential than B220(-) DC precursors and generate both CD11b(-) B220(+) and CD11b(+)B220(-) DC populations. Both DC precursor populations can give rise to CD8 alpha(+) and CD8 alpha(-) DC subtypes. Our findings indicate that CD11c(+)MHC II(-)B220(+) and CD11c(+)MHC II(-)B220(-) bone marrow cells are distinct DC lineage-restricted precursors.