Phylogénomique des cellules dendritiques chez les vertébrés – PhyloGen-DC

Dendritic cells (DC) play a key role in the regulation of immune responses generated by vaccination which is an effective and sustainable way to control infectious diseases, both in human and in animals of our environment (specific diseases and zoonoses). The design of new vaccine strategies implies to find the way to target DC and DC subsets for shaping adequate immune responses (e.g. CD8 T cells against viruses, versus antibody to bacteria). This manipulation, proved feasible in mice, is not attainable in target animals because the DC and DC subsets that direct their Ab and cytotoxic responses are unknown. In fish and in poultry, DCs have even not yet been characterized. Our project aims at using genome-wide expression profiling, which already allowed molecular characterization of DC subsets in mouse and human, for the characterization of DC in different vertebrate species across evolution (sheep, pigs, chicken and trout). A meta-analysis will establish homologies or differences between mouse/human DC subsets and other vertebrates DC in order to (1) establish a DC transcriptomic profile throughout vertebrates and (2) as a first step to devise DC targeting strategies for highly efficient vaccinations in species of environmental or economical values.