Summary The molecular complexity of the bone marrow (BM) microenvironment and its response to stress are incompletely understood, despite its key role in the regulation of hematopoiesis. Here we map the transcriptional landscape of BM vascular, perivascular, and osteoblast niche populations at single-cell resolution at both homeostasis and under stress hematopoiesis. This analysis revealed a previously unappreciated level of cellular heterogeneity within the BM niche, identified novel cellular subsets, and resolved cellular sources of pro-hematopoietic growth factors, chemokines, and membrane-bound ligands. Under conditions of stress, our studies revealed a significant transcriptional remodeling of these niche elements, including an adipocytic skewing of the perivascular cells. Among the stress-induced changes, we observed that vascular Notch ligand delta-like ligands (Dll1,4) were downregulated. In the absence of vascular Dll4, hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) prematurely induced a myeloid transcriptional program. These findings refine our understanding of the cellular architecture of the BM niche, reveal a dynamic and heterogeneous molecular landscape that is highly sensitive to stress, and illustrate the utility of single cell transcriptomic data in systematically evaluating the regulation of hematopoiesis by discrete niche populations.

SUMMARY The role of the microenvironment in T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL), or any acute leukemia, is poorly understood. Here we demonstrate that T-ALL cells are in direct, stable contact with CXCL12-producing bone marrow stroma. Cxcl12 deletion from vascular endothelial, but not perivascular, cells impeded tumor growth, suggesting a vascular niche for T-ALL. Moreover, genetic targeting of CXCR4 in murine T-ALL after disease onset led to rapid, sustained disease remission, and CXCR4 antagonism suppressed human T-ALL in primary xenografts. Loss of CXCR4 targeted key T-ALL regulators, including the MYC pathway, and decreased leukemia initiating cell activity in vivo. Our data identify a T-ALL niche, and suggest targeting CXCL12/CXCR4 signaling as a powerful therapeutic approach for T-ALL.

Summary The bone marrow (BM) microenvironment is composed of multiple niche cells that, by producing angiocrine factors, maintain and regenerate the hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) pool (Morrison and Spradling, 2008). We have previously demonstrated that endothelial cells support the proper regeneration of the hematopoietic system following myeloablation (Butler et al., 2010; Hooper et al., 2009; Kobayashi et al., 2010). Here, we demonstrate that expression of the angiocrine factor Jagged-1, supplied by the BM vascular niche, regulates homeostatic and regenerative hematopoiesis through a Notch-dependent mechanism. Conditional deletion of Jagged-1 in endothelial cells (Jag1(ECKO) mice) results in a profound decrease in hematopoiesis and premature exhaustion of the adult HSC pool, while quantification and functional assays demonstrate that loss ofJagged-1 does not perturb vascular or mesenchymal compartments. Taken together, these data demonstrate that the instructive function of endothelial-specific Jagged-1 is required to support the self-renewal and regenerative capacity of HSCs in the adult BM vascular niche.

SUMMARY Accumulating evidence suggests that Notch signaling is active at multiple points during hematopoiesis. Until recently, the majority of such studies focused on Notch signaling in lymphocyte differentiation and knowledge of individual Notch receptor roles has been limited due to a paucity of genetic tools available. In this manuscript we generate and describe animal models to identify and fate-map stem and progenitor cells expressing each Notch receptor, delineate Notch pathway activation, and perform in vivo gain and loss of function studies dissecting Notch signaling in early hematopoiesis. These models provide comprehensive genetic maps of lineage-specific Notch receptor expression and activation in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. Moreover, they establish a previously unknown role for Notch signaling in the commitment of blood progenitors towards the erythrocytic lineage and link Notch signaling to optimal organismal response to stress erythropoiesis.

SUMMARY Major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-restriction is the cardinal feature of T cell antigen recognition and is thought to be intrinsic to αβ T cell receptor (TCR) structure because of germline-encoded residues which impose MHC specificity. Here, we analyzed TCRs from T cells that had not undergone MHC-specific thymic selection. Instead of recognizing peptide-MHC complexes, the two αβTCRs studied here resembled antibodies in recognizing glycosylation-dependent conformational epitopes on a native self-protein, CD155, and they did so with high affinity independently of MHC molecules. Ligand recognition was via the αβTCR combining site and involved the identical germline-encoded residues that have been thought to uniquely impose MHC specificity, demonstrating that these residues do not only promote MHC binding. Thus, this study demonstrates that, without MHC-specific thymic selection, αβTCRs can resemble antibodies in recognizing conformational epitopes on MHC-independent ligands.

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Summary Thymic selection requires signaling by the protein tyrosine kinase Lck to generate T cells expressing αβ T cell antigen receptors (TCR). For reasons not understood, the thymus selects only αβTCR that are restricted by major histocompatibility complex (MHC) encoded determinants. Here, we report that Lck proteins that were coreceptor-associated promoted thymic selection of conventionally MHC-restricted TCR, but Lck proteins that were coreceptor-free promoted thymic selection of MHC-independent TCR. Transgenic TCR with MHC-independent specificity for CD155 utilized coreceptor-free Lck to signal thymic selection in the absence of MHC, unlike any transgenic TCR previously described. Thus, the thymus can select either MHC-restricted or MHC-independent αβTCR depending on whether Lck is coreceptor-associated or coreceptor-free. We conclude that the intracellular state of Lck determines the specificity of thymic selection, and that Lck association with coreceptor proteins during thymic selection is the mechanism by which MHC restriction is imposed on a randomly generated αβTCR repertoire.

Mature αβT cells recognize foreign antigenic peptides presented by MHC molecules but do not recognize native antigenic proteins , features known as MHC-restriction. How MHC-restriction is imposed on αβT cells has intrigued immunologists for decades. One model proposes that germline-encoded elements in the TCR variable regions are evolutionarily conserved to only recognize MHC. However, we propose an alternative model that posits that MHC restriction is imposed by CD4 and CD8 corece ptors during thymic selection. Thus we think that TCRs are structurally able to recognize a huge diversity of ligands but only TCRs with MHC specificity survive thymic selection.