Resident Macrophage Lookalikes of Unexpected Origin

Abstract

In this issue of Developmental Cell, Lin et al. (2019) identify in zebrafish skin macrophage-like cells that sample the environment through transepithelial protrusions and import antigen from the water for traditional tissue-resident macrophages. Remarkably, these "metaphocytes" originate from the epidermis, challenging current assumptions about the lineage of tissue-resident macrophages.