IntroductionHematopoiesis is the process whereby the blood cell lineages are generated from a multipotent hematopoietic stem cell (HSC). HSCs possess the unique ability to self-renew but also differentiate to give rise to mature blood cells. Long-term HSCs (LT-HSCs) are the most primitive HSCs and can fully reconstitute the hematopoietic compartment of lethally irradiated animals. They reside in a hypoxic niche and are generally quiescent. 1,2 In comparison, short-term HSCs (ST-HSCs) are temporally limited in their ability to reconstitute lethally irradiated animals and more actively cycle. HSCs are regulated through their environmental niche, cytokine signaling, and the orchestrated activities of various transcription factors. 3 However, there is a relative paucity of information about the signal transduction events that regulate HSC function. In particular, the effects of fatty acid (FA) metabolism and lipid mediators on HSC function are not well understood.The function of HSCs is dependent on their unique capacity to both differentiate and self-renew, which is related to their proliferative capacity. 4,5 Highly proliferative HSCs are less efficient at reconstituting lethally irradiated mice. 6 Thus, HSCs that lack cell-cycle inhibitors required to maintain quiescence, such as p21cip/WAF, are defective. 7 HSC function is also regulated by transcription factors including Gfi-1, Bmi, Hox4b, and PU.1. [8][9][10][11] Furthermore, canonical Wnt signaling was shown to regulate HSC function by maintaining quiescence and initiating a self-renewal program of gene transcription. [12][13][14] 12/15-Lipoxygenase (12/15-LOX) is a lipid-peroxidizing enzyme that mediates unsaturated FA metabolism. 12/15-LOX introduces molecular oxygen into arachidonic acid (AA) and linoleic acid to produce bioactive labile lipid intermediates such as 12(S)-hydroperoxyeicosatetraenoic acid, 15(S)-hydroperoxyeicosatetraenoic acid, and 13(S)-hydroperoxyoctadecadienoic acid. These intermediates are rapidly reduced by glutathione reductase, which releases reactive oxygen species (ROS) and produces additional bioactive lipid metabolites, including 12(S)-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (12(S)-HETE), 15(S)-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (15(S)-HETE), 13(S)-hydroxyoctadecadienoic (13(S)-HODE), lipoxins, and hepoxilins. 15 Eicosanoid products activate multiple signaling pathways and transcription factors such as peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-␥, interferon consensus sequencebinding protein/interferon regulatory factor-8 (ICSBP/IRF-8), and nuclear factor-B to modulate gene transcription. 16,17 These lipid mediators have pleiotropic affects on myriad cell types, 18 but our knowledge of their role in HSCs is limited. 19,20 Notably, in leukemia that results from abnormal hematopoiesis, lipid mediators are reduced. [21][22][23] Previously, we showed that 12/15-LOX is a novel suppressor of myeloproliferative disease (MPD). 24 Although less than 15% of 12/15-LOX-deficient mice (Alox15 mice) develop a severe MPD over the course of a year, the majority ...