Open AccessLow Level of c‐Kit Expression Marks Deeply Quiescent Murine Hematopoietic Stem Cells
Author(s) -
Matsuoka Yoshikazu,
Sasaki Yutaka,
Nakatsuka Ryusuke,
Takahashi Masaya,
Iwaki Ryuji,
Uemura Yasushi,
Sonoda Yoshiaki
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
stem cells
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.159
H-Index - 229
eISSN - 1549-4918
pISSN - 1066-5099
DOI - 10.1002/stem.721
Subject(s) - biology , haematopoiesis , stem cell , expression (computer science) , microbiology and biotechnology , computer science , programming language
Although c‐kit is expressed highly on murine hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and essential for bone marrow (BM) hematopoiesis, the significance of the high level of expression of c‐kit on HSCs was not well determined. We show here that CD150 + CD48 − Lineage − Sca‐1 + c‐kit + HSCs in adult BM are distributed within the range of roughly a 20‐fold difference in the expression level of c‐kit, and that c‐kit density correlates with the cycling status of the HSC population. This predisposition is more evident in the BM of mice older than 30 weeks. The HSCs in G 0 phase express a lower level of c‐kit both on the cell surface and inside the cells, which cannot be explained by ligand receptor binding and internalization. It is more likely that the low level of c‐kit expression is a unique property of HSCs in G 0 . Despite functional differences in the c‐kit gradient, the HSCs are uniformly hypoxic and accessible to blood perfusion. Therefore, our data indicate the possibility that the hypoxic state of the HSCs is actively regulated, rather than them being passively hypoxic through a simple anatomical isolation from the circulation. S TEM C ELLS 2011;29:1783–1791