Interleukin 4 selectively expands functional type 1 conventional dendritic cells from bone marrow progenitors

Type 1 conventional dendritic cells (cDC1s) are infrequent immune cells with an essential role in orchestrating immune responses to malignancies or infections. Despite their significance in regulating adaptive immunity, the absence of efficient manufacturing techniques to produce sufficient cDC1s hinders their therapeutic application. Here, we show that interleukin 4 (IL-4) markedly increases the yield of cDC1 cells derived from Flt3 ligand cultures of mouse and human progenitors, while concurrently inhibiting plasmacytoid DCs development. IL-4 predominantly acts on DC progenitors, and its activity requires cell-intrinsic IL4-RA or STAT6 signaling. Both in vitro and in vivo, IL-4-stimulated cDC1s efficiently prime cytotoxic CD8⁺ T cells. Transcriptomic analyses reveal that IL-4 promotes cDC1 proliferation, providing a mechanistic basis for the enhanced output. Together, these findings uncover an unexpected role for IL-4 in driving the development and scalable production of bona fide cDC1s, facilitating mechanistic studies and supporting their future therapeutic application in human disease.