[Poster] Gene regulatory network reveals the landscape of myeloid dendritic cell differentiation

This poster presents a comprehensive transcriptomic study of myeloid dendritic cell (DC) differentiation, revealing the complex regulatory networks that drive the development of these crucial immune cells. By integrating single-cell RNA sequencing data from 81,867 bone marrow cells, the study provides a high-resolution map of hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) differentiation into myeloid and lymphoid lineages, focusing on dendritic cell subpopulations.

The analysis identified five major cell lineages in the bone marrow and mapped the trajectory of HSC differentiation into monocyte-dendritic progenitors (MDPs) and common dendritic progenitors (CDPs). Functional annotations of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) highlighted key processes, such as amide biosynthesis in MDPs and cytoskeletal organization in CDPs, which are critical for dendritic cell development.

To further explore dendritic cell heterogeneity, co-expression network analysis revealed distinct regulatory modules in conventional dendritic cell subpopulations (cDC1, cDC2, and pre-cDC). cDC2 subtypes, in particular, exhibited unique transcriptional signatures associated with ATP synthesis, T cell differentiation, and MHC protein assembly. The study also identified key transcription factors, including IRF1 and IRF2, that orchestrate dendritic cell lineage commitment and functional specialization.

These findings shed light on the intricate regulatory landscape of myeloid DC differentiation and provide a valuable resource for understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying immune cell diversity.