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Pivotal role for glycogen synthase kinase–3 in hematopoietic stem cell homeostasis in mice
Jian Huang, … , Stephen G. Emerson, Peter S. Klein
Jian Huang, … , Stephen G. Emerson, Peter S. Klein
Published November 23, 2009
Citation Information: J Clin Invest. 2009;119(12):3519-3529. https://doi.org/10.1172/JCI40572.
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Research Article Hematology

Pivotal role for glycogen synthase kinase–3 in hematopoietic stem cell homeostasis in mice

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Abstract

Hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) homeostasis depends on the balance between self renewal and lineage commitment, but what regulates this decision is not well understood. Using loss-of-function approaches in mice, we found that glycogen synthase kinase–3 (Gsk3) plays a pivotal role in controlling the decision between self renewal and differentiation of HSCs. Disruption of Gsk3 in BM transiently expanded phenotypic HSCs in a β-catenin–dependent manner, consistent with a role for Wnt signaling in HSC homeostasis. However, in assays of long-term HSC function, disruption of Gsk3 progressively depleted HSCs through activation of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR). This long-term HSC depletion was prevented by mTOR inhibition and exacerbated by β-catenin knockout. Thus, GSK-3 regulated both Wnt and mTOR signaling in mouse HSCs, with these pathways promoting HSC self renewal and lineage commitment, respectively, such that inhibition of Gsk3 in the presence of rapamycin expanded the HSC pool in vivo. These findings identify unexpected functions for GSK-3 in mouse HSC homeostasis, suggest a therapeutic approach to expand HSCs in vivo using currently available medications that target GSK-3 and mTOR, and provide a compelling explanation for the clinically prevalent hematopoietic effects observed in individuals prescribed the GSK-3 inhibitor lithium.

Authors

Jian Huang, Yi Zhang, Alexey Bersenev, W. Timothy O’Brien, Wei Tong, Stephen G. Emerson, Peter S. Klein

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Figure 6

Increased HSCs/HPCs in rapamycin-treated recipients of Gsk3-depleted BM.

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Increased HSCs/HPCs in rapamycin-treated recipients of Gsk3-depleted BM....
(A) BM was harvested from Mx-Cre;β-cateninfl/fl mice treated with or without polyI:polyC, transduced with control or Gsk3-rnai lentivirus, and transplanted into irradiated recipients. After 4 months, GFP+ cells were sorted (pooled from 5 mice per group), and phospho–ribosomal protein S6 (p-S6) was detected in cell lysates by immunoblot. (B) Flow cytometric detection of phospho–ribosomal protein S6 with BM cells in A. (C) Irradiated mice were reconstituted with BM transduced with control vector or Pten-rnai. After 4 months, phospho–GSK-3 and phospho–ribosomal protein S6 were assessed in GFP+ cells by immunoblot. (D) NIH3T3 cells were infected for 3 days with control or Pten-rnai lentivirus, and phospho–GSK-3α/β in control and Pten-depleted cells was detected by immunoblot. (E) Noncompetitive serial transplants. GFP+ cells (2 × 106) from primary recipients of control or Gsk3-rnai were transplanted into 10 irradiated recipients per group. After 1.5–2 months, secondary recipients were injected with rapamycin or vehicle every other day for 8 weeks. Percent GFP+ LSK cells was compared among the 4 groups. (F) Absolute number of GFP+ LSK cells as in E. (G) Colony formation with sorted GFP+ cells from E. (H) Kaplan-Meier plot showing survival of tertiary recipients transplanted with BM from control- and rapamycin-treated secondary recipients in E–G. Shown is control vector BM from secondary recipients treated with vehicle or rapamycin and Gsk3-rnai–infected BM from secondary recipients treated with vehicle or rapamycin transplanted to lethally irradiated tertiary recipients. *P < 0.05.

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