Long-term repopulating hematopoietic stem cells and “side population” in human steady state peripheral blood

Abstract Hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) are indispensable for the integrity of complex and long-lived organisms since they can reconstitute the hematopoietic system for life and achieve long term repopulation of lethally irradiated mice. Exposure of an organism to ionizing radiation (IR) causes dose dependant bone marrow suppression and challenge the replenishment capacity of HSC. Yet, the precise damages that are generated remain largely unexplored. To better understand these effects, phenotypic and functional changes in the stem/progenitor compartments of sublethally irradiated mice were monitored over a ten week period after radiation exposure. We report that shortly after sublethal IR-exposure, HSC, defined by their repopulating ability, still segregate in the Hoechst dye excluding side population (SP); yet, their Sca-1 (S) and c-Kit (K) expression levels are increased and severely reduced, respectively, with a concurrent increase in the proportion of SPSK cells positive for established indicators of HSC presence: CD150+/CD105+ and Tie2+. Virtually all HSCs quickly but transiently mobilize to replenish the bone marrow of myelo-ablated mice. Ten weeks after, whereas bone marrow cellularity has recovered and hematopoietic homeostasis is restored, major phenotypic modifications can be observed within the c-Kit+ Sca-1+ Lin−/low (KSL) stem/progenitor compartment: CD150+/Flk2− and Flk2+ KSL cell frequencies are increased and dramatically reduced, respectively. CD150+ KSL cells also show impaired reconstitution capacity, accrued γ-H2AX foci and increased tendency to apoptosis. This demonstrates that the KSL compartment is not properly restored 10 weeks after sublethal exposure, and that long-term IR-induced injury to the bone marrow proceeds, at least partially, through direct damage to the stem cell pool. Since thrombopoietin (TPO) has been shown to reduce haematopoietic injury when administered immediately after exposure to radiations, we asked whether TPO could restore the permanent IR-induced damage we observed in the HSC compartment. We first found in competitive transplant experiments that a single TPO administration rescued the impaired reconstitution capacity of HSC’s from animals exposed to sublethal IR. In addition, we observed that TPO injection right after irradiation considerably attenuates IR-induced long-term injury to the stem/progenitor compartment. Finally, the use of marrow cells from transgenic ubiquitous luciferase-expressing donors combined with bioluminescence imaging technology provided a valuable strategy that allowed visualizing HSC homing improvements of TPO-treated compared to untreated irradiated donors, and enabled the identification of a preferential cellular expansion sites which were inaccessible to investigation in most studies. Electronic microscopy analysis revealed that these sites show also differential activity of megakaryocytopoiesis with marked differences in the proplatelets reaching the vascular sinus. Altogether, our data provide novel insights in the cellular response of HSC to IR and the beneficial effects of TPO administration to these cells.

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Levels of the c-Myb Protein Indicate Repopulating Capacity in Long-Term Hematopoietic Stem Cells

Blood ◽

10.1182/blood.v120.21.1196.1196 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 120 (21) ◽

pp. 1196-1196

Author(s):

Hiroshi Sakamoto ◽

Naoki Takeda ◽

Kiyomi Tsuji-Tamura ◽

Saeka Hirota ◽

Ogawa Minetaro

Keyword(s):

Stem Cells ◽

Hematopoietic Stem Cells ◽

Peripheral Blood ◽

Conditional Knockout ◽

Hematopoietic Progenitors ◽

Hematopoietic Stem ◽

Expression Levels ◽

Myb Protein ◽

Over Time

Abstract Abstract 1196 c-Myb is a transcription factor essential for the proliferation of hematopoietic cells: conventional c-myb deficient mice died around E14 when their hematopoietic progenitors/stem cells fail to proliferate in the fetal livers. Recently, c-myb has also been reported to be crucial for the differentiation of hematopoietic progenitors. We have previously reported that the differentiation into erythrocytes, megakaryocytes and B-lymphocytes is regulated by c-myb levels utilizing ES cell in vitro differentiation combined with a tetracycline-inducible gene expression system. The gene-altered c-myb mice, such as knockdown or conditional knockout mice in the hematopoietic cell lineages, showed that c-myb controlled hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). In order to examine the levels of the c-Myb protein in HSCs, we established c-Myb reporter mice in which the EGFP cDNA was linked to the coding sequence of the c-myb gene (c-MybEGFP). Homozygous c-MybEGFP mice, showing normal hematopoiesis, expressed EGFP in hematopoietic progenitors. EGFP+ cells were observed in most long-term (LT) HSCs (90–95%), which were defined as CD34− Lin− Sca-1+c-Kithigh cells (34LSKs), CD150+CD48−LSKs and side-population LSKs. To evaluate c-Myb function in LT-HSCs, we transplanted 100 cells of EGFPlow and EGFPhigh of 34LSKs into irradiated mice along with competitor cells (0×106 cells). Both LT-HSC populations presented multilineage repopulating capacity over 20 weeks. In addition, the EGFPlow cells indicated higher chimerism in the total peripheral blood than the EGFPhigh cells at any given time point. The contribution of the EGFPlow-derived cells in the peripheral blood of the recipient mice increased over time whereas EGFPhigh progeny gradually decreased over time. Under a stringent transplantation condition (30 donor cells with 0.4×106 competitor cells), 83.3% of the recipients that received the EGFPlow34LSK showed donor-derived progeny while the EGFPhigh were lower (20.0%) 8 weeks after transplantation. At Week 12, all the recipients with the EGFPlow34LSKs demonstrated donor-derived progeny; however, EGFPhigh 34LSKs-derived cells disappeared totally in all the transplants. These results suggest that the EGFPlow and the EGFPhigh cells in LT-HSCs possess distinct repopulating capacity: the EGFPlow cells are high and the EGFPhigh cells are low. To investigate the relationship between the EGFPlow and the EGFPhigh LT-HSC, we examined EGFP expression levels in the recipient mice grafted EGFPlow34KSL at least 24 weeks after transplantation. EGFPlow34LSK generated EGFPhigh cells in the donor-derived 34LSK population in the recipient mice, suggesting the possibility that the EGFPlow LT-HSCs support the production of the EGFPhigh LT-HSCs. In conclusion, we found that the expression levels of c-Myb protein subdivide LT-HSC population in correspondence with their respective multilineage repopulating capacities. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

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The Endothelial Antigen ESAM Marks Hematopoietic Stem Cells throughout Life

Blood ◽

10.1182/blood.v112.11.727.727 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 112 (11) ◽

pp. 727-727 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Takafumi Yokota ◽

Kenji Oritani ◽

Stefan Butz ◽

Koichi Kokame ◽

Paul W Kincade ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Stem Cells ◽

Bone Marrow ◽

Endothelial Cell ◽

Hematopoietic Stem Cells ◽

Blood Cells ◽

Fetal Liver ◽

Side Population ◽

Expression Profiles ◽

Hematopoietic Stem

Abstract Hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) are an important cell type with the capacity for self-renewal as well as differentiation into multi-lineage blood cells, maintaining the immune system throughout life. Many studies have attempted to identify unique markers associated with these extremely rare cells. In bone marrow of adult mice, the Lin-c-kitHi Sca1+ CD34−/Lo Thy1.1Lo subset is known to include HSC with long-term repopulating capacity. However, several of these parameters differ between strains of mice, change dramatically during developmental age and/or are expressed on many non-HSC during inflammation. Efficient HSC-based therapies and the emerging field of regenerative medicine will benefit from learning more about what defines stem cells. We previously determined that the most primitive cells with lymphopoietic potential first develop in the paraaortic splanchnopleura/aorta-gonad-mesonephros (AGM) region of embryos using Rag1/GFP knock-in mice. We also reported that Rag1/GFP-c-kitHi Sca1+ cells derived from E14.5 fetal liver (FL) reconstituted lympho-hematopoiesis in lethally irradiated adults, while Rag1/GFPLo c-kitHi Sca1+ cells transiently contributed to T and B lymphopoiesis. To extend those findings, microarray analyses were conducted to search for genes that characterize the initial transition of fetal HSC to primitive lymphopoietic cells. The comparisons involved mRNA from Rag1Lo ckitHi Sca1+, early lymphoid progenitors (ELP) and the HSC-enriched Rag1-ckitHi Sca1+ fraction isolated from E14.5 FL. While genes potentially related to early lymphopoiesis were discovered, our screen also identified genes whose expression seemed to correlate with HSC. Among those, endothelial cell-selective adhesion molecule (ESAM) attracted attention because of its conspicuous expression in the HSC fraction and sharp down-regulation on differentiation to ELP. ESAM was originally identified as an endothelial cell-specific protein, but expression on megakaryocytes and platelets was also reported (J. Biol. Chem., 2001, 2002). Flow cytometry analyses with anti-ESAM antibodies showed that the HSC-enriched Rag1-c-kitHi Sca1+ fraction could be subdivided into two on the basis of ESAM levels. The subpopulation with the high density of ESAM was enriched for c-kitHi Sca1Hi cells, while ones with negative or low levels of ESAM were found in the c-kitHi Sca1Lo subset. Among endothelial-related antigens on HSC, CD34 and CD31/PECAM1 were uniformly present on Rag1-c-kitHi Sca1+ cells in E14.5 FL and neither resolved into ESAMHi and ESAM−/Lo fractions. Expression profiles of Endoglin and Tie2 partially correlate with ESAM. The primitive ESAMHi fraction uniformly expressed high levels of Endoglin and Tie2, but many of the more differentiated ESAM−/Lo cells still retained the two markers. ESAM expression correlated well with HSC activity. Cells in the ESAMHi Rag1-ckitHi Sca1+ fraction formed more and larger colonies than those in the ESAM-/Lo Rag1-ckitHi Sca1+ fraction. Particularly, most CFU-Mix, primitive progenitors with both myeloid and erythroid potential, were found in the ESAMHi fraction. In limiting dilution stromal cell co-cultures, we found that 1 in 2.1 ESAMHi Rag1-ckitHi Sca1+ cells and 1 in 3.5 ESAM−/Lo Rag1-ckitHi Sca1+ cells gave rise to blood cells. However, while only 1 in 125 ESAM−/Lo Rag1-ckitHi Sca1+ cells were lymphopoietic under these conditions, 1 in 8 ESAMHi Rag1-ckitHi Sca1+ cells produced CD19+ B lineage cells. In long-term reconstituting assays, ESAMHi Rag1-ckitHi Sca1+ cells contributed highly to the multi-lineage recovery of lympho-hematopoiesis in recipients, but no chimerism was detected in mice transplanted with ESAM−/Lo Rag1-ckitHi Sca1+ cells. These results suggested that HSC in E14.5 FL are exclusively present in the ESAMHi fraction. Tie2+ c-kit+ lympho-hematopoietic cells of E10.5 AGM also expressed high levels of ESAM. Furthermore, ESAM expression in adult bone marrow was detected on primitive progenitors and cells in the side population within the Lin-ckitHi Sca1+ fraction. Interestingly, the expression was up-regulated in aged mice. Based on these observations, we conclude that ESAM marks HSC throughout life in mice. We also observed that many of human cord blood CD34+ CD38− cells express ESAM, suggesting potential application for the purification of human HSC.

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In Vivo divisional Tracking System Reveals Cycling Heterogeneity in Long-Term Hematopoietic Stem Cells.

Blood ◽

10.1182/blood.v114.22.814.814 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 114 (22) ◽

pp. 814-814

Author(s):

Hitoshi Takizawa ◽

Markus G Manz

Keyword(s):

Stem Cells ◽

Bone Marrow ◽

Steady State ◽

Hematopoietic Stem Cells ◽

Model Systems ◽

Bone Marrow Niche ◽

Hematopoietic Stem ◽

Tracking Model

Abstract Abstract 814 Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are defined by their capacity to self-renew and give rise to all mature cells of hemato-lymphoid system for the lifetime of an individual. To ensure this, HSCs are kept at homeostatic levels in adult bone marrow. Steady-state HSC cycling kinetics have been evaluated by in vivo labeling assay using 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine (BrdU) (Cheshier et. al., PNAS 1999; Kiel et al., Nature 2007), biotin (Nygren et. al., PLoS ONE 2008) and histon 2B-green fluorescent protein (H2B-GFP) transgenic model systems (Wilson et. al., Cell 2008; Foudi et. al., Nat. Biotech. 2008). Based on the latter, it was suggested that one HSC pool turns over faster than another, dormant pool with very limited divisions during a lifetime. However, the fast cycling HSCs did not have long-term multilineage reconstitution capacity in lethally irradiated animals in contrast to dormant HSCs (Wilson et. al., Cell 2008; Foudi et.al., Nat. Biotech. 2008). From these experiments remained unclear, whether the faster cycling HSC loose long-term repopulation potential according to divisional history, or whether they represent progenitors with limited self-renewal potential, sharing a long-term HSC phenotype. Therefore, the dynamics of steady-state long-term HSC homeostasis and blood production remains to be determined. To address this directly, we set up an in vivo HSC divisional tracking assay. Here we show i.v. transfer of CFSE (carboxyfluorescein diacetate succinimidyl ester) -labeled HSCs into non-conditioned CD45.1/2 congenic F1 recipient mice that allows evaluation of steady-state HSC dynamics as CFSE distributes equally to daughter cells upon each cellular division. Sorted naïve CD4+CD62L+ T cells were used as non-dividing control cell population to determine the zero division CFSE staining level over time. Upon transfer of Lin-c-kit+Sca-1+ cells (LKS) into sublethally irradiated mice, all donor derived Lin-c-kit+ cells had divided >5 times after 3 weeks. However, transfer of LKS cells into non-irradiated mice revealed non-divided LKS cells in recipient bone marrow over 20 weeks. FACS analysis with HSC or progenitor specific marker expression showed that most of 0-2 time-divided and few of >5x divided LKS cells maintained a long-term HSC phenotype (CD150+, c-mpl+, CD34-). In order to test HSC potential, non- or >5x divided cells were sorted based on divisional history from primary recipients at different time points after transplantation, and competitively transplanted into lethally irradiated secondary recipients. At 3 weeks post primary transfer, single non-divided LKS cell was able to multi-lineage repopulate recipients, while 50 of >5x divided LKS cells showed no engraftment. Interestingly, both non- and >5x divided LKS cells at 7 or 12-14 weeks after primary transfer had long-term multilineage repopulating potential. Limiting dilution transplantation experiments demonstrated that HSC with long-term multilineage capacity (LT-HSC) were maintained at constant numbers that fit the numbers of free bone marrow niche space, with non-divided LT-HSC decreasing and >5x divided LT-HSC increasing with a constant division rate. We next tested the effects of hemato-immunological challenge on HSC cycling dynamics. Upon i.p. LPS injection into mice, previously transplanted with CFSE-labeled LKS, almost all LT-HSCs entered cell cycle within one week after challenge. These findings directly demonstrate that some LT-HSCs are quiescent for up to one fifth of the life-time of a mouse, while other LT-HSCs divide more actively, thus proving asynchronous LT-HSC division and contribution to hematopoiesis in steady-state. In addition, the results demonstrate that quiescent LT-HSCs are driven into division in response to naturally-occurring hematopoietic challenges, such as systemic bacterial infection. The CFSE-tracking model established here now allows to directly test the role of intrinsic versus environmental cues on cycling-dynamics of HSCs as well as leukemia initiating cells in steady-state and upon challenge on multiple genetic and different species background. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

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Cell-Intrinsic and Cell-Extrinsic Involvement Of C/EBPβ In The Regulation Of Hematopoietic Stem Cells

Blood ◽

10.1182/blood.v122.21.1202.1202 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 122 (21) ◽

pp. 1202-1202

Author(s):

Akihiro Tamura ◽

Hideyo Hirai ◽

Yoshihiro Hayashi ◽

Asumi Yokota ◽

Atsushi Sato ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Stem Cells ◽

Steady State ◽

Hematopoietic Stem Cells ◽

Progenitor Cells ◽

Peripheral Blood ◽

Leucine Zipper ◽

Conflicts Of Interest ◽

Chronic Phase ◽

Hematopoietic Stem ◽

The Difference

Abstract Our previous findings have revealed the requirement of CCAAT Enhancer Binding Protein β (C/EBPβ), a leucine zipper transcription factor, in emergency granulopoiesis (Hirai et al. Nat Immunol, 2006). During emergency situations such as infection, C/EBPβ is involved in the sufficient supply of granulocytes through amplification of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (Satake et al. J Immunol, 2012). In addition, we have shown that C/EBPβ is upregulated by downstream signaling of BCR-ABL and promotes myeloid expansion and leukemic stem cells exhaustion in chronic phase chronic myeloid leukemia (Hayashi et al. Leukemia, 2013). These observations suggested that C/EBPβ plays important roles in normal hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). Here we investigated the cell-intrinsic and -extrinsic function of C/EBPβ in the regulation of HSCs by analyzing C/EBPβ knockout (KO) mice. At steady state, no obvious defects have been reported in hematopoiesis of C/EBPβ KO mice. Accordingly, the frequencies of long-term and short-term HSCs and various kinds of progenitor cells in bone marrows (BM) of C/EBPβ KO mice were identical to those in BM of wild type (WT) mice. To examine the functional consequences of C/EBPβ deletion, competitive repopulation assay was performed. In brief, 5x105 BM cells from WT or C/EBPβ KO mice (CD45.2+) and the same number of competitor CD45.1+ BM cells were transplanted into lethally irradiated CD45.1+ mice and the chimerisms of CD45.2+ cells in the peripheral blood of the recipient mice were monitored monthly. The chimerisms of C/EBPβ KO cells were significantly lower than that of WT cell at 1 month after transplantation and the differences were maintained thereafter (Figure A). In order to elucidate the reason for the difference, homing ability of C/EBPβ KO cells were assessed. Lineage depleted CD45.2+ WT or C/EBPβ KO BM cells together with the equal number of lineage negative CD45.1+ BM cells were transplanted into lethally irradiated CD45.1+ mice and the frequencies of CD45.2+ cells were analyzed 16 hours after transplantation. The frequencies of CD45.2+ WT and C/EBPβ KO donor cells in the recipient BMs were identical and the data indicated that the differences in the chimerisms after primary BM transplantation were due to the difference in the initial expansion of transplanted cells after equivalent levels of homing. To see the roles of C/EBPβ in hematopoiesis under stressed conditions, CD45.1+ mice were transplanted with CD45.2+ WT or C/EBPβ KO BM cells with equal numbers of CD45.1+ BM cells and these mice were administered with 150mg/kg 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) once a month and the chimerisms of peripheral blood were monitored every time before the next 5-FU administration. In consistent with the results mentioned above, the frequencies of CD45.2+ C/EBPβ KO cells were significantly lower than those of CD45.2+ WT cells 1 month after transplantation. After repetitive administration of 5-FU, however, the chimerisms of CD45.2+ C/EBPβ KO cells gradually caught up with those of CD45.2+ WT cells, suggesting that C/EBPβ is involved in the exhaustion of HSCs under stressed conditions (Figure B). To explore the functions of C/EBPβ in hematopoietic microenvironments, 1x106 CD45.1+ BM cells from WT mice were transplanted into irradiated (5Gy or 7Gy) WT or C/EBPβ KO mice (CD45.2+). All the WT recipient mice survived after 5Gy or 7Gy irradiation (4/4 and 4/4, respectively). In contrast, only 2/4 and 1/4 C/EBPβ KO recipient mice survived after 5Gy or 7Gy irradiation, respectively. We are currently trying to identify the cells expressing C/EBPβ in BM microenvironments and investigating the mechanisms for the higher sensitivity of C/EBPβ KO mice to irradiation. In summary, these data suggested that C/EBPβ is required for initial expansion of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells at the expense of HSCs under stressed conditions, while it is dispensable for maintenance of HSCs at steady state. We are now investigating the cellular and molecular targets of C/EBPβ in HSC regulation and would like to elucidate the cell-intrinsic and cell-extrinsic mechanisms in regulation of the homeostasis of hematopoietic system by C/EBPβ. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

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High c-Kit expression identifies hematopoietic stem cells with impaired self-renewal and megakaryocytic bias

Journal of Experimental Medicine ◽

10.1084/jem.20131128 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 211 (2) ◽

pp. 217-231 ◽

Cited By ~ 118

Author(s):

Joseph Y. Shin ◽

Wenhuo Hu ◽

Mayumi Naramura ◽

Christopher Y. Park

Keyword(s):

Stem Cells ◽

Steady State ◽

Hematopoietic Stem Cells ◽

Loss Of Function ◽

Functional Heterogeneity ◽

Self Renewal ◽

Hematopoietic Stem ◽

Functional Differences ◽

Low Levels

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are heterogeneous with respect to their self-renewal, lineage, and reconstitution potentials. Although c-Kit is required for HSC function, gain and loss-of-function c-Kit mutants suggest that even small changes in c-Kit signaling profoundly affect HSC function. Herein, we demonstrate that even the most rigorously defined HSCs can be separated into functionally distinct subsets based on c-Kit activity. Functional and transcriptome studies show HSCs with low levels of surface c-Kit expression (c-Kitlo) and signaling exhibit enhanced self-renewal and long-term reconstitution potential compared with c-Kithi HSCs. Furthermore, c-Kitlo and c-Kithi HSCs are hierarchically organized, with c-Kithi HSCs arising from c-Kitlo HSCs. In addition, whereas c-Kithi HSCs give rise to long-term lymphomyeloid grafts, they exhibit an intrinsic megakaryocytic lineage bias. These functional differences between c-Kitlo and c-Kithi HSCs persist even under conditions of stress hematopoiesis induced by 5-fluorouracil. Finally, our studies show that the transition from c-Kitlo to c-Kithi HSC is negatively regulated by c-Cbl. Overall, these studies demonstrate that HSCs exhibiting enhanced self-renewal potential can be isolated based on c-Kit expression during both steady state and stress hematopoiesis. Moreover, they provide further evidence that the intrinsic functional heterogeneity previously described for HSCs extends to the megakaryocytic lineage.

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Mir-99 Regulates Normal and Leukemic Stem Cell Function

Blood ◽

10.1182/blood.v128.22.1469.1469 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 128 (22) ◽

pp. 1469-1469

Author(s):

Mona Khalaj ◽

Carolien Woolthuis ◽

Wenhuo Hu ◽

Benjamin Heath Durham ◽

Christopher Y. Park

Keyword(s):

Stem Cells ◽

Stem Cell ◽

Hematopoietic Stem Cells ◽

Peripheral Blood ◽

Cell Function ◽

Conflicts Of Interest ◽

Ectopic Expression ◽

Gene Set Enrichment Analysis ◽

Hematopoietic Stem

Abstract Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is composed of functionally heterogeneous cells including leukemic stem cells (LSCs), which exhibit the ability to self-renew and propagate disease. It is thought that failure of common chemotherapy regimens is due to insufficient eradication of LSCs. However, the mechanisms that maintain stem cell function in the hematopoietic system are not well understood. MicroRNAs play an important role in the regulation of normal and malignant hematopoietic stem cells. Our studies showed that miR-99, a miRNA highly expressed in AML patient cell populations enriched for LSC activity, is among the most highly expressed miRNAs in hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), suggesting that miR-99 plays a role in regulating normal HSCs as well as LSCs. To test the role of miR-99 in normal hematopoiesis, we knocked down (KD) miR-99 in mouse HSCs (Lin-cKit+Sca1+CD34-SLAM+), which resulted in ~3 fold reduced methylcellulose colony formation upon secondary plating (P=0.01), as well as accelerated granulopoiesis as demonstrated by increased Gr1+Mac1+ cells 7 days after culture initiation (P<0.01), suggesting that miR-99 functions to suppresses differentiation. Consistent with this model, transplantation assays demonstrated >10-fold reduction in long-term engraftment capacity of miR-99 KD compared to scrambled controls (P=0.0004). In addition, Ki-67/DAPI staining of stably engrafted miR-99 KD hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) showed increased cell cycling, demonstrating that miR-99 also maintains HSPC quiescence. Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) of RNA-sequencing data generated from stably engrafted Lin-Sca-1+c-Kit+ cells revealed that miR-99 KD induces significant depletion of LT-HSC gene signatures (P<0.001) and induction of a late progenitor signature (P<0.001), providing further evidence that miR-99 normally functions to maintain HSPCs in the undifferentiated state. To test whether miR-99 maintains LSCs, we performed miR-99 KD experiments using the MLL-AF9 retroviral mouse model. miR-99 KD resulted in a significant extension in survival in secondary transplants compared to scrambled controls (median 92 days vs. 48 days, P<0.001). Evaluation of the bone marrow at the time of death revealed ~2.5 fold decrease in the frequency of LSCs (P<0.01) and ~2 fold increase in the percentage of cycling LSCs (in SG2M) (P<0.001). Analysis of RNA-seq data from miR-99 KD LSCs revealed induction of a differentiated normal progenitor signature (P<0.001) and depletion of a shared HSC/LSC gene signature (P=0.05). Giemsa staining of peripheral blood showed miR-99 KD also induced a significant increase in the number of differentiated myeloid precursors in the peripheral blood (P<0.001), reminiscent of AML differentiation-inducing agents used in the clinic such as ATRA. Consistent with a role in regulating leukemic blast differentiation, microRNA-Seq data from the 153 AML patients in the TCGA database revealed that miR-99 expression inversely correlated with their French-American-British classifications, with low expression levels associated with M4 and M5 subtypes. Compatible with a role in maintaining LSCs, miR-99 KD in a primary AML sample reduced long-term engraftment upon xenotransplantation into NSG mice, and the engrafting cells displayed increased CD14 expression. Together, these data demonstrate that similar to normal HSPCs, miR-99 maintains LSCs function. As miR-99 functions to maintain both LSCs and HSCs, we asked which miR-99 target genes mediate miR-99 KD phenotypes. To address this question, we performed a shRNA library-based forward genetic screen designed to rescue the reduced HSC function following miR-99 KD. We designed 180 shRNAs against 45 predicted miR-99 targets that we identified as upregulated upon acute miR-99 KD in mouse HSPCs. Among the conserved miR-99 targets, Hoxa1, a member of the Hox family of transcription factors, was among the top hits, with all 4 shRNAs being enriched compared to controls. Ectopic expression of Hoxa1 in MonoMac6 AML cells was sufficient to induce differentiation, a phenotype similar to miR-99 KD. These data indicate that Hoxa1 is an important downstream mediator of miR-99 function. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

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CD150− side population cells represent a functionally distinct population of long-term hematopoietic stem cells

Blood ◽

10.1182/blood-2007-09-115006 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 111 (4) ◽

pp. 2444-2451 ◽

Cited By ~ 94

Author(s):

David C. Weksberg ◽

Stuart M. Chambers ◽

Nathan C. Boles ◽

Margaret A. Goodell

Keyword(s):

Stem Cells ◽

Cell Surface ◽

Hematopoietic Stem Cells ◽

Cell Biology ◽

Side Population ◽

Surface Markers ◽

Cell Surface Markers ◽

Hematopoietic Stem ◽

Slam Family

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are a self-renewing population of bone marrow cells that replenish the cellular elements of blood throughout life. HSCs represent a paradigm for the study of stem-cell biology, because robust methods for prospective isolation of HSCs have facilitated rigorous characterization of these cells. Recently, a new isolation method was reported, using the SLAM family of cell-surface markers, including CD150 (SlamF1), to offer potential advantages over established protocols. We examined the overlap between SLAM family member expression with an established isolation scheme based on Hoechst dye efflux (side population; SP) in conjunction with canonical HSC cell-surface markers (Sca-1, c-Kit, and lineage markers). Importantly, we find that stringent gating of SLAM markers is essential to achieving purity in HSC isolation and that the inclusion of canonical HSC markers in the SLAM scheme can greatly augment HSC purity. Furthermore, we observe that both CD150+ and CD150− cells can be found within the SP population and that both populations can contribute to long-term multilineage reconstitution. Thus, using SLAM family markers to isolate HSCs excludes a substantial fraction of the marrow HSC compartment. Interestingly, these 2 subpopulations are functionally distinct, with respect to lineage output as well as proliferative status.

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