Physiological Migration of Hematopoietic Stem and Progenitor Cells
Douglas E. Wright,1*
Amy J. Wagers,1*
Anjali Pathak Gulati,2
Frances L. Johnson,2
Irving L. Weissman1
Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) reside predominantly in bone
marrow, but low numbers of HSCs are also found in peripheral blood. We
examined the fate of blood-borne HSCs using genetically marked
parabiotic mice, which are surgically conjoined and share a common
circulation. Parabionts rapidly established stable, functional cross
engraftment of partner-derived HSCs and maintained partner-derived hematopoiesis after surgical separation. Determination of the residence
time of injected blood-borne progenitor cells suggests that circulating
HSCs/progenitors are cleared quickly from the blood. These data
demonstrate that HSCs rapidly and constitutively migrate through the
blood and play a physiological role in, at least, the functional
reengraftment of unconditioned bone marrow.
1 Departments of Pathology and Developmental
Biology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
2 Department of Medicine, Cardiovascular
Medicine Division, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto
Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Cardiology Section (111C), 3801 Miranda Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA.
*
These authors contributed equally to this work.
To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail:
irv{at}stanford.edu
