Abstract
Cripto has been known as an embryonic stem (ES)- or tumor-related soluble/cell membrane protein. In this study, we demonstrated that Cripto has a role as an important regulatory factor for hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). Recombinant Cripto sustained the reconstitution ability of HSCs in vitro. Flow cytometry analysis uncovered that GRP78, one of the candidate receptors for Cripto, was expressed on a subset of HSCs and could distinguish dormant/myeloid-biased HSCs and active/lymphoid-biased HSCs. Cripto is expressed in hypoxic endosteal niche cells where GRP78(+) HSCs mainly reside. Proteomics analysis revealed that Cripto-GRP78 binding stimulates glycolytic metabolism-related proteins and results in lower mitochondrial potential in HSCs. Furthermore, conditional knockout mice for HIF-1α, a master regulator of hypoxic responses, showed reduced Cripto expression and decreased GRP78(+) HSCs in the endosteal niche area. Thus, Cripto-GRP78 is a novel HSC regulatory signal mainly working in the hypoxic niche.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Journal | Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences |
| Volume | 1266 |
| Pages (from-to) | 55-62 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| ISSN | 0077-8923 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Aug 2012 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Animals
- Cell Hypoxia
- Epidermal Growth Factor/chemistry
- GPI-Linked Proteins/chemistry
- Gene Expression
- Glycolysis
- Heat-Shock Proteins/metabolism
- Hematopoietic Stem Cells/classification
- Humans
- Hypoxia-Inducible Factor 1, alpha Subunit/metabolism
- Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins/chemistry
- Membrane Glycoproteins/chemistry
- Mice
- Mice, Knockout
- Models, Biological
- Neoplasm Proteins/chemistry
- Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt/metabolism
- Signal Transduction
- Stem Cell Niche