Adult zebrafish Langerhans cells arise from hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells
- Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong
- Southern Medical University, China
- Shenzhen Peking University, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Medical Center, China
- South China University of Technology, China
Abstract
The origin of Langerhans cells (LCs), which are skin epidermis-resident macrophages, remains unclear. Current lineage tracing of LCs largely relies on the promoter-Cre-LoxP system, which often gives rise to contradictory conclusions with different promoters. Thus, reinvestigation with an improved tracing method is necessary. Here, using a laser-mediated temporal-spatial resolved cell labeling method, we demonstrated that most adult LCs originated from the ventral wall of the dorsal aorta (VDA), an equivalent to the mouse aorta, gonads, and mesonephros (AGM), where both hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and non-HSC progenitors are generated. Further fine-fate mapping analysis revealed that the appearance of LCs in adult zebrafish was correlated with the development of HSCs, but not T cell progenitors. Finally, we showed that the appearance of tissue-resident macrophages in the brain, liver, heart, and gut of adult zebrafish was also correlated with HSCs. Thus, the results of our study challenged the EMP-origin theory for LCs.
Data availability
All data generated or analysed during this study are included in the manuscript and supporting files. Source data files have been provided for all figures and supplementary figures.
Article and author information
Author details
Funding
National Natural Science Foundation of China (31229003)
- Zilong Wen
Research Grants Council, University Grants Committee (16102414)
- Zilong Wen
Innovation and Technology Commission (ITCPD/17-9)
- Zilong Wen
Research Grants Council, University Grants Committee (16103515)
- Zilong Wen
Research Grants Council, University Grants Committee (HKUST5/CRF/12R)
- Zilong Wen
Research Grants Council, University Grants Committee (AoE/M-09/12)
- Zilong Wen
Research Grants Council, University Grants Committee (T13-607/12R)
- Zilong Wen
The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.
Copyright
© 2018, He et al.
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License permitting unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.
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Adult zebrafish Langerhans cells arise from hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells
eLife 7:e36131.
https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.36131
Further reading
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- Developmental Biology
- Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine
Niches are often found in specific positions in tissues relative to the stem cells they support. Consistency of niche position suggests that placement is important for niche function. However, the complexity of most niches has precluded a thorough understanding of how their proper placement is established. To address this, we investigated the formation of a genetically tractable niche, the Drosophila Posterior Signaling Center (PSC), the assembly of which had not been previously explored. This niche controls hematopoietic progenitors of the lymph gland (LG). PSC cells were previously shown to be specified laterally in the embryo, but ultimately reside dorsally, at the LG posterior. Here, using live-imaging, we show that PSC cells migrate as a tight collective and associate with multiple tissues during their trajectory to the LG posterior. We find that Slit emanating from two extrinsic sources, visceral mesoderm and cardioblasts, is required for the PSC to remain a collective, and for its attachment to cardioblasts during migration. Without proper Slit-Robo signaling, PSC cells disperse, form aberrant contacts, and ultimately fail to reach their stereotypical position near progenitors. Our work characterizes a novel example of niche formation and identifies an extrinsic signaling relay that controls precise niche positioning.
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- Developmental Biology
- Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine
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