Hematopoietic stem cell niche generation and maintenance are distinguishable by an epitranscriptomic program. (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38657601/)

These scientists wanted to understand how the environment that supports stem cells in our bones is formed and maintained. They studied two different stages of development: when we are babies and when we are adults. They looked at special cells called mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) in the bone marrow, which are important for supporting other stem cells.

They found that when we are babies, these MSCs have certain genes that help control how messages in the cells are read. One of these genes, called Mettl3, is important for a process called m(6)A mRNA methylation. This process helps the cells decide what they should become. The scientists discovered that right after we are born, the expression of Mettl3 decreases in these MSCs.

To understand the role of Mettl3, the scientists removed it from developing MSCs in baby mice. They found that without Mettl3, the MSCs turned into bone cells too much, which caused a problem in the environment that supports other stem cells. However, when they removed another gene called Klf2, which is controlled by Mettl3, the problem was fixed.

But when they removed Mettl3 from MSCs in adult mice, it didn't affect the environment that supports stem cells. This showed that the process of creating and maintaining the stem cell environment depends on different mechanisms at different stages of life.

The scientists believe that understanding these differences could help in developing new treatments for regenerative medicine, where we use stem cells to repair damaged tissues in the body.

Gao L., Lee H., Goodman JH., Ding L. Hematopoietic stem cell niche generation and maintenance are distinguishable by an epitranscriptomic program. Cell. 2024 May 23;187(11):2801-2816.e17. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2024.03.032. Epub 2024 Apr 23.