Project: Circulating precursors and niche requirements for LysoDC differentiation (LysoDiff)

About

Our health relies on a delicate balance between immune defense against pathogens and tolerance to food antigens and gut microbiota. Peyer's patches (PPs) play a central role in this process. We identified PP LysoDCs as the main dendritic cells responsible for pathogen capture, making them promising targets for oral vaccination.

LysoDCs are continuously renewed from poorly defined blood precursors. Their differentiation is shaped by the intestinal stromal microenvironment, or niche, whose cellular identity and trophic factors remain unknown.

The ANR LysoDiff project aims to:

1/ elucidate the origin of LysoDCs;

2/ characterize their stromal niche.

By unveiling the mechanisms governing the emergence and differentiation of LysoDCs, this project will open the way to new intestinal vaccine and therapeutic strategies.