Dendritic cells populations are continuously replenished from bone marrow hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) by dynamic developmental process.

We are developing synthetic niches modelling the physiological human bone marrow niche to analyse cell fate decision at the single cell level. These experimental systems can be translated in vivo, into immunodeficient mice to analyse the development of human dendritic cells in realistic experimental settings. These organoids-based systems open the possibility to identify and evaluate soluble factors controlling lineage fate decisions in the human bone marrow. Altogether this approach contributes to identify actionable pathways controlling the release of dendritic cell progenitors from the bone marrow to the blood stream.

In a complementary approach, we are interested to understand how dendritic cells circulating progenitors in the blood stream seed inflammatory sites like tumors of virus-infected tissues to initiate immune responses.

Understanding the developmental and trafficking pathways from HSC to tissue dendritic cells is key to understand the dynamic of immune responses.

This research opens new avenues developing immunotherapies aiming at manipulating dendritic cell populations in vivo to foster adaptive immunity against cancer and infections.