A subset of skin macrophages contributes to the surveillance and regeneration of local nerves
Kolter J, Feuerstein R, Zeis P, Hagemeyer N, Paterson N, d'Errico P, Baasch S, Amann L, Masuda T, Lösslein A, Gharun K, Meyer-Luehmann M, Waskow C, Franzke CW, Grün D, Lämmermann T, Prinz M, Henneke P.
The skin comprises tissue macrophages as the most abundant resident immune cell type. Their diverse tasks including resistance against invading pathogens, attraction of bypassing immune cells from vessels, and tissue repair require dynamic specification. Here, we delineated the postnatal development of dermal macrophages and their differentiation into subsets by adapting single-cell transcriptomics, fate mapping, and imaging. Thereby we identified a phenotypically and transcriptionally distinct subset of prenatally seeded dermal macrophages that selfmaintained with very low postnatal exchange by hematopoietic stem cells.
In summary, our data show long-lasting functional specification of macrophages in the dermis that is driven by stepwise adaptation to guiding structures and ensures codevelopment of ontogenetically distinct cells within the same compartment.
