Despars, GenevieveO'Neill, Helen2015-12-130301-472Xhttp://hdl.handle.net/1885/86273Although most studies on murine dendritic cell (DC) differentiation concentrate on the nature of the DC precursor population and the lineage relationship between DC and other hematopoietic cell types, very little research addresses the nature of the microenvironments necessary for DC hematopoiesis. Evidence supporting a major contribution of niches in DC differentiation within hematopoietic tissues is reviewed. A model is presented that identifies a potential role for multiple hematopoietic niches in DC differentiation. It is proposed that multiple DC subsets develop from one or a small number of DC progenitor types that lodge in various niches within different tissue sites. Implications of a niche-mediated model for differentiation of DC precursors are discussed in the context of both physiological and pathological situations.Keywords: CD4 antigen; Flt3 ligand; granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor; interleukin 3; interleukin 4; interleukin 6; interleukin 7; stem cell factor; Thy 1 antigen; transforming growth factor beta1; tumor necrosis factor alpha; autoimmune disease; cel200410.1016/j.exphem.2003.12.0042015-12-12