RNA-seq and CUT&Tag analysis of mouse cDC1 and cDC2 populations upon DC-SCRIPT depletion

The functional diversification of dendritic cells (DCs) is a key step in establishing protective immune responses. Despite the importance of this lineage diversity, its genetic basis is not fully understood. DC-SCRIPT (Zfp366) is a poorly known transcription factor expressed in conventional DCs (cDCs) and their committed bone marrow progenitors but not in plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs). We show that mice lacking DC-SCRIPT displayed substantially impaired development of IRF8-dependent conventional DC1 (cDC1), while cDC2 differentiated normally. The residual DC-SCRIPT-deficient cDC1s had impaired CD8+ T-cell cross-priming, which could be in part explained by the direct control of DC-SCRIPT on IL-12p40 production. Genome-wide mapping of DC-SCRIPT binding and gene expression analyses revealed a key role for DC-SCRIPT in maintaining cDC1 identity via the direct regulation of cDC1 signature genes, including Irf8. Our study reveals DC-SCRIPT to be a critical component of the gene regulatory program shaping the functional attributes of cDC1s. This SuperSeries is composed of the SubSeries listed below. cDC1s and cDC2s were sorted from the spleens of WT or Zfp366-/- mice. RNA was extracted and profiled using RNA-seq and nuclei were isolated for Cut&Tag profiling of DC-SCRIPT binding. Refer to individual Series