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Dynamic Regulation of Hematopoietic Stem Cells by Bone Marrow Niches

  • Cancer and Stem Cells (D Starczynowski and G Huang, Section Editors)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose of Review

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) reside in a specialized microenvironment called the HSC niche. While key components of the niche have been known for several years, recent advances have identified several additional cell types that regulate HSC in the bone marrow (BM). Here, we review our current understanding of the components and dynamics of the HSC niche.

Recent Findings

While the niche has been considered a stable structure, recent advances clearly show that the niche is regulated in a dynamic manner to control HSC traffic and function. Moreover, the niche can rapidly remodel in response to insults to the BM in a process controlled by positive and negative regulators.

Summary

Multiple niche cells have been shown to be dynamically regulated by systemic and local signals to influence how the niche controls HSC function. Elucidating how different components of the niche coordinate to orchestrate HSC behavior is essential to understand how the hematopoietic system adjusts blood cell production to the demands of the body.

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Acknowledgments

The authors apologize to those whose work was not cited because of space limitations.

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Author notes

  1. Margot May and Anastasiya Slaughter contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Michigan School of Medicine, Ann Arbor, MI, USA

    Margot May

  2. Division of Experimental Hematology and Cancer Biology, Cincinnati Children’s Medical Center, 240 Albert Sabin Way, Floor S7.351, Cincinnati, OH, 45229, USA

    Anastasiya Slaughter & Daniel Lucas

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  1. Margot May
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  2. Anastasiya Slaughter
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  3. Daniel Lucas
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Correspondence to Daniel Lucas.

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Margot May, Anastasiya Slaughter, and Daniel Lucas declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Cancer and Stem Cells

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May, M., Slaughter, A. & Lucas, D. Dynamic Regulation of Hematopoietic Stem Cells by Bone Marrow Niches. Curr Stem Cell Rep 4, 201–208 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40778-018-0132-x

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