Laboratory of Stem Cell Biology and Developmental Immunology, Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences and Graduate School of Medicine, WPI Immunology Frontier Research Center, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan.
Int Immunol. 2019 Feb 6;31(1):5-11. doi: 10.1093/intimm/dxy058.
The special microenvironments, termed niches, with which hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) are in contact, have been thought to be required for the maintenance of HSCs and the generation of immune cells in bone marrow. Although the identity of the HSC niche has been a subject of long-standing debate, recent findings demonstrate that a population of mesenchymal stem cells, termed CXC chemokine ligand (CXCL)12-abundant reticular (CAR) cells or leptin receptor-expressing (LepR+) cells, are the major cellular components of niches for HSCs and lymphoid progenitors, which express specific transcription factors, including Foxc1 and Ebf3, and cytokines, including CXCL12 and stem cell factor (SCF), essential for their niche functions. The identity and functions of other types of cells, including osteoblasts, sinusoidal endothelial cells, periarteriolar cells, megakaryocytes and a population of macrophages in HSC maintenance, have also been shown.
造血干细胞（HSCs）与之接触的特殊微环境，称为龛，被认为是维持 HSCs 和骨髓中免疫细胞生成所必需的。尽管 HSC 龛的身份一直是一个长期争论的话题，但最近的研究结果表明，一群间充质干细胞，称为趋化因子（CXC 配体）12 丰富的网状（CAR）细胞或瘦素受体表达（LepR+）细胞，是 HSCs 和淋巴祖细胞龛的主要细胞成分，这些细胞表达特定的转录因子，包括 Foxc1 和 Ebf3，以及细胞因子，包括 CXCL12 和干细胞因子（SCF），对于它们的龛功能至关重要。其他类型的细胞，包括成骨细胞、窦内皮细胞、血管周围细胞、巨核细胞和巨噬细胞中的一群，在 HSC 的维持中也具有特定的身份和功能。
