Highlights d scRNA-seq and CITE-seq identify two thymus seeding progenitors in human postnatal thymus d The human thymus is colonized by distinct T and non-T lineage precursors d Immature thymocytes differentiate mainly into T and DC lineage cells d Transcriptional dynamics reveal regulatory networks similar to and distinct from mouse

No abstract

There is growing research interest in the mammalian Tribbles (Trib) family of serine/threonine pseudokinases and their oncogenic association with acute leukemias. This review is to understand the role of Trib genes in hematopoietic malignancies and their potential as targets for novel therapeutic strategies in acute myeloid leukemia and acute lymphoblastic leukemia. We discuss the role of Tribs as central signaling mediators in different subtypes of acute leukemia and propose that inhibition of dysregulated Trib signaling may be therapeutically beneficial.

TRIB2, a serine/threonine pseudokinase identified as an oncogene, is expressed at high levels in the T-cell compartment of hematopoiesis. The proliferation of developing thymocytes is tightly controlled to prevent leukemic transformation of T cells. Here we examine Trib2 loss in murine hematopoiesis under steady state and proliferative stress conditions, including genotoxic and oncogenic stress. Trib2−/− developing thymocytes show increased proliferation, and Trib2−/− mice have significantly higher thymic cellularity at steady state. During stress hematopoiesis, Trib2−/− developing thymocytes undergo accelerated proliferation and demonstrate hypersensitivity to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)-induced cell death. Despite the increased cell death post 5-FU-induced proliferative stress, Trib2−/− mice exhibit accelerated thymopoietic recovery post treatment due to increased cell division kinetics of developing thymocytes. The increased proliferation in Trib2−/− thymocytes was exacerbated under oncogenic stress. In an experimental murine T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) model, Trib2−/− mice had reduced latency in vivo, which associated with impaired MAP kinase (MAPK) activation. High and low expression levels of Trib2 correlate with immature and mature subtypes of human T-ALL, respectively, and associate with MAPK. Thus, TRIB2 emerges as a novel regulator of thymocyte cellular proliferation, important for the thymopoietic response to genotoxic and oncogenic stress, and possessing tumor suppressor function.