Hematopoiesis is maintained throughout life by self-renewing
hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) that differentiate to produce both myeloid and
lymphoid cells. The NR4A family of orphan nuclear receptors, which regulates
cell fate in many tissues, appears to play a key role in HSC proliferation and
differentiation. Using a NR4A1GFP BAC transgenic reporter mouse we
have investigated NR4A1 expression and its regulation in early hematopoiesis. We
show that NR4A1 is most highly expressed in a subset of
Lin−Sca-1+c-Kit+
CD48−CD150+ long-term (LT) HSCs, and its
expression is tightly associated with HSC quiescence. We also show that NR4A1
expression in HSCs is induced by PGE2, a known enhancer of stem cell
engraftment potential. Finally, we find that both NR4A1GFP+ and
NR4A1GFP− HSCs successfully engraft primary and secondary
irradiated hosts; however, NR4A1GFP+ HSCs are distinctly
myeloid-biased. These results show that NR4A1 expression identifies a highly
quiescent and distinct population of myeloid-biased LT-HSCs.
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