Method for identifying myeloid or plasmacytoid dendritic cells provided by a mammal, stimulated or unstimulated, comprising the steps of: a) preparing a cell sample; b) contacting the cell sample myeloid or plasmacytoid dendritic cells to form a complex; c) detecting the complex; characterized in that the phosphatase is the Receptor type Tyrosine Phosphatase Gamma Protein (PTPRG), acting as a specific marker of said dendritic cells, and in thaht the compound is a polypeptide capable of selectively bind to the PTPRG or to a fragment thereof or to a oligonucleotide complementary to a PTPRG mRNA logonucleotide in such a manner as to allow the selective recognizing of the dendritic cells in the cell sample.