Unit 6: Blood and Hematopoiesis Flashcards
What is hematopoiesis?
the process of producing blood cells, including formation, development and differentiation
What are the components of blood?
plasma, erythrocytes, thrombocytes, leukocytes
What is plasma?
liquid matrix consisting of proteins and other regulatory molecules
What are erythrocytes?
Also called “red blood cells”. Cells with hemoglobin and no nucleus (oxygen transporters)
What are thrombocytes?
Formed elements (also called platelets) involved in coagulation
What are leukocytes?
Also called “white blood cells”, involved in host defense including innate and adaptive immunity.
What are the types of leukocytes?
granulocytes, mononuclear cells
What are granulocytes?
Leukocytes with specific cytoplasmic granules
What are mononuclear cells?
Agranular lymphocytes and monocytes involved in immune effector, helper and accessory functions (e.g. B cells and T cells)
What are the steps in hematopoeisis?
stem cells -> progenitor cells -> precursor cells -> differentiated, functional cell types
What are hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs)?
can self-renew and regenerate every cell type in the hematopoietic system.
What are hematopoietic stem cells capable of?
reconstituting the entire bone marrow
How often do Hematopoietic Stem Cells divide?
Relatively quiescent – resistant to chemotherapy and radiation
How are hematopoietic stem cells activated?
in response to stress
How are hematopoietic stem cells identified?
presence of specific cell surface markers: CD34, CD90
absence of other cell surface markers: CD38, other lineage markers associated with mature cell types
What are Hematopoietic Progenitor Cells (HPCs)?
more restricted in differentiation potential
Hematopoietic progenitors with different potential to form specific mature cell types are defined by…
Function
• Bone marrow transplantation
• Colony forming potential
Cell surface markers
Response to specific growth factors / cytokines
Where is the site of blood production?
depends on the stage of development in humans
Yolk Sac (Early Embryo)
• 3-10 weeks of gestation
Aorta-Gonad-Mesonephros
• Site for production of definitive HSCs
Fetal Liver (Embryo)
• 6 weeks to term
Spleen
• 10 weeks to 7 months
Bone Marrow
• 4 months to death
Where is the first phase of hematopoiesis for life? How is this characterized?
yolk sac - 3rd week of gestation
Characterized by formation of “blood islands” in wall of yolk sac.
What is the major blood forming organ in the fetus?
liver
What is the predominant cell types in the fetus?
erythroid
How much of the body is bone marrow?
4-5% of body weight
What are the compartments of bone marrow?
vascular and hematopoietic
What are the embryonic precursors to blood and bone marrow?
mesoderm
How many cells does an average human replace every day?
330 billion cells
86% of cells are blood
How does regulation of hematopoiesis occur?
Intrinsic regulatory factors
extrinsic regulatory factors
What are intrinsic regulatory factors?
(e.g. transcription factors)
coordinate gene expression
For example, the GATA2 transcription factor is required for HSC formation and function, GATA1 is needed for erythropoiesis and Pu.1 is needed to commit cells to myeloid lineages.
What are extrinsic regulatory factors?
(e.g. growth factors)
produced in stromal cells to stimulate HSC/progenitor cell survival and differentiation.
What does aplastic anemia cause?
hypocellularity
(not producing enough hematopoetic cells)
What does myeloid leukemia cause?
packed, hypercellular marrow
(too many hematopoetic cells)
What is the hematopoietic niche?
specialized microenvironment consisting of stromal cells (mesenchymal cells, adipocytes, osteoblasts, fibroblast, endothelial cells and macrophages) that produce supportive cytokines such as SCF and a local microvasculature
What do bone marrow stromal cells produce?
extracellular matrix components, growth factors, adhesion molecules, cytokines to support the developing hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells
What do cytokines and growth factors provide?
pro-survival, proliferation, and differentiation signals to stem/progenitor cells depending on the needs of the hematopoietic system
How can hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells be grown?
in vitro using semisolid media such as methylcellulose containing growth media, growth factors (see previous slide) and hematopoietic colony stimulating factors
How are characteristic colonies of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells formed?
from a single progenitor cell, which allows for the evaluation of stem/progenitor cell potentials and frequencies in bone marrow and peripheral blood
What are characteristic colonies of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells?
Colony forming unit (CFU)
CFU-Granulocyte-Erythrocyte-Macrophage-Megakaryocyte (CFU-GEMM)
CFU-Granulocyte-Macrophage
CFU- Granulocyte
Burst Forming Unit - Erythrocyte
How are hematopoetic stem cells “mobilized” to leave the bone marrow and enter circulation?
enhanced by administering granulocyte – colony stimulating factor (G-CSF)
How are hematopoetic stem cells leave circulation to reenter circulation?
stem cell homing – when an HSCs leaves the blood and re-enters the bone marrow niche.
How is stem cell homing mediated?
by stem cell derived factor 1 (SDF1) and CXCR4. The maintenance of stem cell viability during this process is mediated by secreted stem cell factor (SCF) and HSC cell surface receptors Kit and Notch.
What do the features of HSCs (mobilization and homing) permit?
Their transplantation
What are the types of HSC transplantation?
autologous (self)
allogenic (other)
Why are bone marrow transplants performed?
replace cancerous cells in the bone marrow
How are bone marrow transplants performed?
Stem cells are harvested from marrow or mobilized peripheral blood or collected from umbilical cords after birth.
HSCs can also be cultured in the lab, modified using CRISPR-Cas9.
What is the model for the differentiation states of hematopoiesis? What is this based on?
suggest a continuum of differentiation “states” as opposed to discrete populations of progenitors with fixed lineage potential
based on new techniques that allow molecular analysis of individual cells.
- Single cell RNA-sequencing
What does blood transport?
oxygen, carbon dioxide, nutrients, hormones, heat and waste
What does blood regulate?
fluid homeostasis, pH, body temperature and water content
What does blood protect?
against excessive loss by clotting.
against infections.
What is plasma and where is it secreted?
(water (90%), proteins, electrolytes, nitrogen, nutrients, gases)
secreted by liver.
What are the proteins in plasma?
albumin, globulins, fibronogen
What does albumin do in plasma?
maintains proper concentration gradients between blood and extracellular tissue fluid. Made in the liver. Albumin has a fundamental role in maintaining osmotic pressure in blood
What do globulins do in plasma?
immunoglobulins are secreted by plasma cells, and are involved in the humoral response. Non-immunoglobulins are secreted by the liver, and help maintain osmotic pressure.