Myeloid cells belong to the innate part of the immune system generated in the bone marrow from common myeloid progenitors. From the bone marrow they migrate into the blood and lymphatic system where they are the first line of defence against infections. However, unlike lymphoid cells such as B and T cells, the myeloid compartment of the immune system does not adapt to a previous infection or vaccination.
Common cells of the myeloid compartment include monocytes, macrophages, dendritic cells, granulocytes and mast cells. Each cell type has a specific function in the generation and resolution of an immune response. Myeloid cell subsets can be difficult to identify due to variability and low level expression of markers and the rarity of some populations. This guide to immunophenotyping of human myeloid cells takes you through some of the common markers and gating strategies used to identify myeloid cells by flow cytometry, with examples of data acquired on the ZE5™ Cell Analyzer.