The potential of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) to reconstitute the hematopoietic system has allowed for the development of transplantation approaches to treat cancer and hematologic diseases. Cell cycle status of HSC defines their ability to engraft in conditioned recipients and has been hypothesized as a mechanism for chemotherapy-resistant HSC-derived leukemias. HSC are highly quiescent cells with the ability to rapidly enter the cell cycle and differentiate through changes in their polarity and disposition of intracellular molecular fate determinants in response to microenvironment (ME) cues. In bone marrow (BM) hematopoiesis, interferons type I (IFN-I), a ME cytokine produced in response to viral infection, have been shown to be a crucial positive regulator to induce proliferation of otherwise quiescent hematopoietic stem cells (qHSC). Our preliminary data indicate that Scribble deficient HSC are insensitive to IFN-I and retain cellular quiescence in vivo. Our preliminary data also show that the Hippo effector Yap1, which also regulates stem cell proliferation in response to ME signals, is polarized and co-localizes in the cytoplasm with Scribble in wild type HSC. Deficiency of Scribble in HSC results in Yap1 translocation to nuclear euchromatin suggesting a novel Scribble-mediated mechanism used to protect qHSC from potential damage associated with cellular activation. Our data suggests that Scribble distinctly regulates HSC cell cycle progression in a context-dependent manner. We believe that ME IFN-I induced HSC proliferative signaling program depends on Scribble and that Scribble deficiency abrogates HSC polarization leading to reduced quiescence and subsequent HSC exhaustion through activation of downstream Hippo effectors. To gain insight into these ME dependent signaling pathways that control HSC activity, we plan to analyze both IFN-I response signaling pathways and Hippo signaling in Scribble proficient and deficient HSC. We will utilize flow cytometry and confocal microscopy to define a role for Scribble in mediating such signals. Functionally, we will test the reconstitution abilities of wild type and Scribble structure-functio mutants in Scribble deficient HSC through serial transplantations. Dissecting the microenvironment dependent Scribble-mediated molecular mechanisms that govern HSC quiescence will help refine the significance and therapeutic potential of naturally occurring IFN molecules and identify novel targets for intervention in HSC disease.
The potential of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) to reconstitute the hematopoietic system has allowed the development of transplantation approaches to treat cancer and genetic diseases. HSC are highly quiescent cells with the ability to rapidly respond to cues produced by the microenvironment (ME) following hematopoietic stress or damage to replenish blood cells. This proposal intends to dissect the ME dependent Scribble- mediated molecular mechanisms that govern HSC quiescence. Our goal is to identify novel molecular targets that can be used to improve stem cell transplantation efficacy and ameliorate HSC diseases.
