Description:
The regulation of hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) regeneration involves a sophisticated interplay between signals from the niche and the nuclear regulatory machinery. Extensive work has been done to identify many key players in both areas. However, conveying the signal to the nucleus is not sufficient without the “doers,” the machineries that execute the cellular processes critical for regeneration. Recent studies have identified several vulnerable processes in HSC physiology, such as proteostasis and energy metabolism, which become imbalanced during HSC exhaustion or dysfunction, i.e., processes involved in HSC culture expansion or aging. This session will closely examine the critical physiological processes and their interplay with other regulatory cues, including nutrient-derived signals (minerals and vitamins) crucial for maintaining healthy regeneration without malignant transformation.

Dr. Robert Signer, will discuss how protein homeostasis has emerged as fundamentally and preferentially important in HSCs. He will review how the protein homeostasis network is uniquely configured to promote hematopoietic stem cell self-renewal. Dr. Signer will further discuss how mechanisms of translational control, protein folding, and protein degradation are rewired throughout life to preserve stem cell fitness and will evaluate consequences of protein homeostasis disruption.

Dr. Marie-Dominique Filippi, will discuss the role of metabolism in HSC functions and how HSCs are highly responsive to changes in metabolite availability. New mechanisms will be presented on how HSC metabolic needs are remodeled during regenerative conditions. Additionally, Dr. Filippi will discuss the usage of branch chain amino acids as a new cell-autonomous metabolic checkpoint that influences HSC replicative lifespan.

Dr. Nina Cabezas-Wallscheid, will discuss how mouse and human HSCs and multipotent progenitors are metabolically regulated from intrinsic to dietary-derived metabolites. Through her work using integrated low-input multi-layer omics data, she will highlight research demonstrating distinct metabolic and epigenetic hubs that are essential in HSCs (and not for their downstream progenitors)

Dr. Britta Will, will discuss integrating nutrients into HSC regulation and iron homeostasis in HSCs. Her lab has uncovered a key role of the readily accessible intracellular labile iron pool in instructing HSC self-renewal. More recently, she has focused on identifying the molecular mechanisms of action, particularly focusing on metabolic and non-enzymatic pathways that rely on iron.