Project description:Given the discontinuation of various first-line drugs for visceral leishmaniasis (VL), large-scale in vivo drug screening, establishment of a relapse model in rodents, immunophenotyping and transcriptomics were combined to study persistent infections and therapeutic failure. Double bioluminescent/fluorescent Leishmania infantum and L. donovani reporter lines enabled the identification of long-term hematopoietic stem cells (LT-HSC) as a niche with remarkably high parasite burdens, a feature confirmed for human hematopoietic stem cells (hHSPC). LT-HSC are more tolerant to antileishmanial drug action and serve as source of relapse. A unique transcriptional “StemLeish” signature in these cells was defined byupregulated TNF/NF-kB and RGS1/TGF-β/SMAD/SKIL signalling, and a downregulated oxidative burst.Cross-species analyses demonstrated significant overlap with human VL and HIV co-infected blood transcriptomes. In summary, the identification of LT-HSC as a drug- and oxidative stress-resistant niche,undergoing a conserved transcriptional reprogramming underlying Leishmania persistence and treatment failure, may open new therapeutic avenues for leishmaniasis.
Project description:Long-term hematopoietic stem cells (LT-HSCs) are responsible for lifelong maintenance and regeneration of the blood system. Loss of LT-HSC function is a major contributor to decline in hematopoietic function with aging, leading to increased rate of infection, poor vaccination response, and increased risk of hematologic malignancies. While cellular and molecular hallmarks of LT-HSC aging have been defined1-3, a barrier to achieving the goal of extending healthy hematopoietic function into older age is the lack of understanding of the nature and timing of the initiating events that cause LT-HSC aging. Here we show that hallmarks of LT-HSC aging and decline in hematopoietic function accumulate by middle age in mice, and that the hematopoietic cell-extrinsic bone marrow (BM) microenvironment at middle age is necessary and sufficient to cause LT-HSC aging. Using unbiased transcriptome-based approaches, we identify decreased production of IGF1 by mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) in the local middle-aged BM microenvironment as a factor causing LT-HSC aging and show that direct stimulation of middle-aged LT-HSCs with IGF1 rescues hallmarks of aging. Together, our study demonstrates that the initiating events causing LT-HSC and hematopoietic aging emerge by middle age and are caused by hematopoietic cell-extrinsic changes in the BM microenvironment. Declining IGF1 in the BM microenvironment at middle age represents a compelling target for intervention using prophylactic therapies to effectively extend healthspan and prevent decline in hematopoietic function during aging.
Project description:Investigation of whole genome gene expression level changes in WASH knockout LT-HSCs, compared to the WASH WT strain. To find the reason that causes LT-HSC abnormal.
Project description:Investigation of whole genome gene expression level changes in WASH knockout LT-HSCs, compared to the WASH WT strain. To find the reason that causes LT-HSC abnormal. Gene expression profiling using sorted LT-HSC samples from C57/BL6 strain. Total RNA extracted from WASH control (isolated RNA from WT, IRWT) and knockout mice (IRKO) were quantified by the NanoDrop ND-1000 and RNA integrity was assessed by standard denaturing agarose gel electrophoresis.Each chip measures the expression level of 44, 170 genes from Mus Musculus.
Project description:Long-term hematopoietic stem cells (LT-HSCs) are responsible for lifelong maintenance and regeneration of the blood system. Loss of LT-HSC function is a major contributor to decline in hematopoietic function with aging, leading to increased rate of infection, poor vaccination response, and increased risk of hematologic malignancies. While cellular and molecular hallmarks of LT-HSC aging have been defined, a barrier to achieving the goal of extending healthy hematopoietic function into older age is the lack of understanding of the nature and timing of the initiating events that cause LT-HSC aging. Here we show that hallmarks of LT-HSC aging and decline in hematopoietic function accumulate by middle age in mice, and that the hematopoietic cell-extrinsic bone marrow (BM) microenvironment at middle age is necessary and sufficient to cause LT-HSC aging. Using unbiased transcriptome-based approaches, we identify decreased production of IGF1 by mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) in the local middle-aged BM microenvironment as a factor causing LT-HSC aging and show that direct stimulation of middle-aged LT-HSCs with IGF1 rescues hallmarks of aging. Together, our study demonstrates that the initiating events causing LT-HSC and hematopoietic aging emerge by middle age and are caused by hematopoietic cell-extrinsic changes in the BM microenvironment. Declining IGF1 in the BM microenvironment at middle age represents a compelling target for intervention using prophylactic therapies to effectively extend healthspan and prevent decline in hematopoietic function during aging.
Project description:Self-renewal is a defining characteristic of stem cells, however the molecular pathways underlying its regulation are poorly understood. Here we demonstrate that conditional inactivation of the Pbx1 proto-oncogene in the hematopoietic compartment results in a progressive loss of long-term hematopoietic stem cells (LT-HSCs) that is associated with concomitant reduction in their quiescence, leading to a defect in the maintenance of self-renewal as assessed by serial transplantation. Transcriptional profiling revealed that multiple stem cell maintenance factors are perturbed in Pbx1-deficient LT-HSCs, which prematurely express a large subset of genes, including cell cycle regulators, normally expressed in non-self-renewing multipotent progenitors. Experiment Overall Design: LT-HSC (Lin-cKit+Sca1+CD34-CD135-) and ST-HSC (Lin-cKit+Sca1+CD34+CD135-) cells were prospectively sorted from the BM of MxCre-.Pbx1f/f control mice harvested 4 weeks after the last injection of poly(I:C).
Project description:Long-term hematopoietic stem cells (LT-HSCs) are responsible for lifelong maintenance and regeneration of the blood system. Loss of LT-HSC function is a major contributor to decline in hematopoietic function with aging, leading to increased rate of infection, poor vaccination response, and increased risk of hematologic malignancies. While cellular and molecular hallmarks of LT-HSC aging have been defined1-3, a barrier to achieving the goal of extending healthy hematopoietic function into older age is the lack of understanding of the nature and timing of the initiating events that cause LT-HSC aging. Here we show that hallmarks of LT-HSC aging and decline in hematopoietic function accumulate by middle age in mice, and that the hematopoietic cell-extrinsic bone marrow (BM) microenvironment at middle age is necessary and sufficient to cause LT-HSC aging. Using unbiased transcriptome-based approaches, we identify decreased production of IGF1 by mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) in the local middle-aged BM microenvironment as a factor causing LT-HSC aging and show that direct stimulation of middle-aged LT-HSCs with IGF1 rescues hallmarks of aging. Together, our study demonstrates that the initiating events causing LT-HSC and hematopoietic aging emerge by middle age and are caused by hematopoietic cell-extrinsic changes in the BM microenvironment. Declining IGF1 in the BM microenvironment at middle age represents a compelling target for intervention using prophylactic therapies to effectively extend healthspan and prevent decline in hematopoietic function during aging.
Project description:Long-term hematopoietic stem cells (LT-HSCs) are responsible for lifelong maintenance and regeneration of the blood system. Loss of LT-HSC function is a major contributor to decline in hematopoietic function with aging, leading to increased rate of infection, poor vaccination response, and increased risk of hematologic malignancies. While cellular and molecular hallmarks of LT-HSC aging have been defined1-3, a barrier to achieving the goal of extending healthy hematopoietic function into older age is the lack of understanding of the nature and timing of the initiating events that cause LT-HSC aging. Here we show that hallmarks of LT-HSC aging and decline in hematopoietic function accumulate by middle age in mice, and that the hematopoietic cell-extrinsic bone marrow (BM) microenvironment at middle age is necessary and sufficient to cause LT-HSC aging. Using unbiased transcriptome-based approaches, we identify decreased production of IGF1 by mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) in the local middle-aged BM microenvironment as a factor causing LT-HSC aging and show that direct stimulation of middle-aged LT-HSCs with IGF1 rescues hallmarks of aging. Together, our study demonstrates that the initiating events causing LT-HSC and hematopoietic aging emerge by middle age and are caused by hematopoietic cell-extrinsic changes in the BM microenvironment. Declining IGF1 in the BM microenvironment at middle age represents a compelling target for intervention using prophylactic therapies to effectively extend healthspan and prevent decline in hematopoietic function during aging.
Project description:Low-C was performed upon human cord-blood long-term hematopoietic stem cells (LT-HSC) and short-term hematopoietic stem cells (ST-HSC). This was used to demonstrate that chromatin conformation changes associated with LT-HSC activation are enriched in ST-HSC.