Signals driving intestinal hematopoiesis

Prinicipal Investigator

Scientific interest within the context of the graduate college:

Project description:

Lymphocytes are composed of both adaptive and innate cells, which differentiate from hematopoietic precursors. These precursors derive from the fetal liver during embryogenesis and from the bone marrow after birth. However, mounting evidence from our previous studies in mice and humans suggests that different tissues, particularly the intestine, can serve as active sites of lymphopoiesis. This project aims to define intestinal lymphocyte progenitors and the cell niche that produces cytokines crucial for in-situ lymphopoiesis, using a combination of single-cell sequencing techniques, in vitro cultures, and in vivo analysis in established genetic mouse models.

Application details

References

1. Juelke K, Romagnani C. Differentiation of human innate lymphoid cells (ILCs). Curr Opin Immunol. 2016; 38:75-85. doi: 10.1016/j.coi.2015.11.005.
2. Montaldo E, Teixeira-Alves LG, Glatzer T, […], Moretta L, Mingari MC, Romagnani C. Human RORγt(+)CD34(+) cells are lineage-specified progenitors of group 3 RORγt(+) innate lymphoid cells. Immunity. 2014; 4:988-1000. doi: 10.1016/j.immuni.2014.11.010.
3. Stehle C, Rückert T, Fiancette R, […], Chang HD, Zimmermann J, Romagnani C. T-bet and RORα control lymph node formation by regulating embryonic innate lymphoid cell differentiation. Nat Immunol. 2021; 22:1231-1244. doi: 10.1038/s41590-021-01029-6.