Nomenclature of monocytes and dendritic cells in blood.

Monocytes and cells of the dendritic cell lineage circulate in blood and eventually migrate into tissue, where they further mature and serve various functions most notably in immune defense. Over the recent years these cells have been characterized in detail using cell surface markers and flow cytometry and subpopulations have been described. The present document proposes a nomenclature for these cells and defines three types of monocytes (classical, intermediate and non-classical monocytes) and three types of dendritic cells (plasmacytoid and two types of myeloid dendritic cells) in human and in mouse blood. This classification has been approved by the Nomenclature Committee of the International Union of Immunological Societies and we are convinced that it will facilitate communication among experts and in the wider scientific community.