Next Generation Sequencing Facilitates Quantitative Analysis of Wild Type and Rictor-/- GMPs

Myeloid precursors generate monocytic, granulocytic, and other innate immune cell lineages to maintain peripheral innate immune homeostasis. Myeloid hematopoiesis is a finely controlled consecutive developmental process, and the intrinsic molecular mechanisms regulating myelopoiesis remain to be studied. Herein, by using mice with an inducible Rictor genetic deletion leading to inactivation of mammalian target of rapamycin complex 2, we found that levels of granulocyte-monocyte progenitors (GMPs), monocytes and macrophages in bone marrow and peripheral tissues were significantly decreased after induction of Rictor deletion, while levels of other immune cells, including T cells, B cells, and neutrophils in the spleen, were not affected. We found that Rictor is required for CMP/GMP proliferation and acts as an important switch to balance monocytic and granulocytic lineage commitment in bone marrow.