![Insights Into Blood-Forming Stem Cells]()
Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) can either self-renew or differentiate into all the different types of blood cells throughout life. Maintaining the proper self-renewal/differentiation balance is vital for keeping an organism’s blood compartment healthy, but the mechanisms determining whether HSCs will self-renew or differentiate remain unclear. In the October 13 online issue of Science, Keisuke Ito, M.D., Ph.D., and colleagues have found that the presence of the cell-surface receptor Tie2 prospectively identifies self-renewing HSCs. The researchers found that this subset of HSCs was enriched for genes that regulate mitochondrial metabolism. More specifically, gene-expression analysis of these Tie2+, self-renewing HSCs revealed that mitochondrial autophagy--a cellular digesting-and-recycling process--is critical for their continued viability. The findings help to explain how HSC fate is determined. Dr. Ito is assistant professor of cell biology, and of medicine and is director of scientific resources at Einstein’s Ruth L. and David S. Gottesman Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine.
Posted on: Monday, November 14, 2016