Consensus holds that hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) give rise to multipotent progenitors (MPPs) of reduced self-renewal potential and that MPPs eventually produce lineage-committed progenitor cells in a stepwise manner. Using a single-cell transplantation system and marker mice, we unexpectedly found myeloid-restricted progenitors with long-term repopulating activity (MyRPs), which are lineage-committed to megakaryocytes, megakaryocyte-erythroid cells, or common myeloid cells (MkRPs, MERPs, or CMRPs, respectively) in the phenotypically defined HSC compartment together with HSCs. Paired daughter cell assays combined with transplantation revealed that HSCs can give rise to HSCs via symmetric division or directly differentiate into MyRPs via asymmetric division (yielding HSC-MkRP or HSC-CMRP pairs). These myeloid bypass pathways could be essential for fast responses to ablation stress. Our results show that loss of self-renewal and stepwise progression through specific differentiation stages are not essential for lineage commitment of HSCs and suggest a revised model of hematopoietic differentiation.

Naturally occurring CD25(+)CD4(+) regulatory T cells are engaged in the maintenance of immunological self-tolerance and down-regulation of various immune responses. Recent studies with mice showed that Foxp3, which encodes the transcription factor Scurfin, is a master regulatory gene for the development and function of CD25(+)CD4(+) regulatory T cells. Here we examined the role of FOXP3 in human CD25(+)CD4(+) regulatory T cells. The FOXP3 gene and its protein product were preferentially expressed in peripheral CD25(+)CD4(+) T cells, in particular CD25(+)CD45RO(+)CD4(+) T cells in normal individuals and, interestingly, in some human T cell leukemia virus type 1-infected T cell lines, which constitutively express CD25. TCR stimulation of CD25(-)CD45RO(-)CD4(+) naive T cells failed to elicit FOXP3 expression at the gene or protein level. Ex vivo retroviral gene transfer of FOXP3, on the other hand, converted peripheral CD25(-)CD45RO(-)CD4(+) naive T cells into a regulatory T cell phenotype similar to CD25(+)CD4(+) regulatory T cells. For example, FOXP3-transduced T cells exhibited impaired proliferation and production of cytokines including IL-2 and IL-10 upon TCR stimulation, up-regulated the expression of regulatory T cell-associated molecules such as CD25 and CTL-associated antigen-4 and suppressed in vitro proliferation of other T cells in a cell-cell contact-dependent manner. Thus, human FOXP3 is a crucial regulatory gene for the development and function of CD25(+)CD4(+) regulatory T cells, and can be used as their reliable marker. Furthermore, regulatory T cells de novo produced from normal naive T cells by FOXP3 transduction can be instrumental for treatment of autoimmune/inflammatory diseases and negative control of various immune responses.

Acquired uniparental disomy (aUPD) is a common feature of cancer genomes, leading to loss of heterozygosity. aUPD is associated not only with loss-of-function mutations of tumour suppressor genes, but also with gain-of-function mutations of proto-oncogenes. Here we show unique gain-of-function mutations of the C-CBL (also known as CBL) tumour suppressor that are tightly associated with aUPD of the 11q arm in myeloid neoplasms showing myeloproliferative features. The C-CBL proto-oncogene, a cellular homologue of v-Cbl, encodes an E3 ubiquitin ligase and negatively regulates signal transduction of tyrosine kinases. Homozygous C-CBL mutations were found in most 11q-aUPD-positive myeloid malignancies. Although the C-CBL mutations were oncogenic in NIH3T3 cells, c-Cbl was shown to functionally and genetically act as a tumour suppressor. C-CBL mutants did not have E3 ubiquitin ligase activity, but inhibited that of wild-type C-CBL and CBL-B (also known as CBLB), leading to prolonged activation of tyrosine kinases after cytokine stimulation. c-Cbl(-/-) haematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPCs) showed enhanced sensitivity to a variety of cytokines compared to c-Cbl(+/+) HSPCs, and transduction of C-CBL mutants into c-Cbl(-/-) HSPCs further augmented their sensitivities to a broader spectrum of cytokines, including stem-cell factor (SCF, also known as KITLG), thrombopoietin (TPO, also known as THPO), IL3 and FLT3 ligand (FLT3LG), indicating the presence of a gain-of-function that could not be attributed to a simple loss-of-function. The gain-of-function effects of C-CBL mutants on cytokine sensitivity of HSPCs largely disappeared in a c-Cbl(+/+) background or by co-transduction of wild-type C-CBL, which suggests the pathogenic importance of loss of wild-type C-CBL alleles found in most cases of C-CBL-mutated myeloid neoplasms. Our findings provide a new insight into a role of gain-of-function mutations of a tumour suppressor associated with aUPD in the pathogenesis of some myeloid cancer subsets.

Using flow cytometry and single cell–based assays, we prospectively identified hepatic stem cells with multilineage differentiation potential and self-renewing capability. These cells could be clonally propagated in culture where they continuously produced hepatocytes and cholangiocytes as descendants while maintaining primitive stem cells. When cells that expanded in vitro were transplanted into recipient animals, they morphologically and functionally differentiated into hepatocytes and cholangiocytes with reconstitution of hepatocyte and bile duct structures. Furthermore, these cells differentiated into pancreatic ductal and acinar cells or intestinal epithelial cells when transplanted into pancreas or duodenal wall. These data indicate that self-renewing pluripotent stem cells persist in the developing mouse liver and that such cells can be induced to become cells of other organs of endodermal origin under appropriate microenvironment. Manipulation of hepatic stem cells may provide new insight into therapies for diseases of the digestive system.

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