Immune cell precursors in lung tissue

What is it about?

Dendritic cells are an important class of immune cell in the lungs that help provide protection against inhaled pathogens and allergens. Most dendritic cells are derived from precursors in the bone marrow, however we show in this paper that the lung tissue of mice harbors a precursor cell that seeds the lungs and can rapidly differentiate into dendritic cells following bone marrow transplantation.

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Why is it important?

These studies open new avenues to develop strategies for the rapid re-establishment of immune protection in the lungs of patients receiving bone marrow transplants, who often succumb to post-transplantation respiratory infections.