Seminar

Ontogenetic diversification of type 2 conventional dendritic cells in the bone marrow: a central logic for peripheral immunity

Carlos Minutti

The immune system doesn’t just react — it anticipates. Our work explores how conventional dendritic cells (cDCs) act as central sensors, decoding physiological signals from the bone marrow to configure immunity across tissues. Traditionally seen as a single, adaptable population shaped by local environments, cDCs are now recognised as a family of developmentally distinct lineages with unique roles in orchestrating immune responses. In this talk, I will discuss how diversity among cDCs may arise not only from peripheral cues but from central programming within the bone marrow. We propose that progenitors can sense the organism’s physiological state, allowing the immune system to pre-emptively tailor dendritic cell output to the needs of different tissues — whether for viral clearance, tissue repair, or tumour control. This “central sensing” axis reframes how we think about immune organisation: as an anticipatory system that encodes division of labour among cDC subsets before they even reach the periphery. By uncovering how this logic is established and maintained, we aim to understand how systemic signals shape immune readiness, and how these principles might be leveraged to guide vaccines and immunotherapy.