The concept of stem-cell plasticity received strong support from a recent observation that extensively passaged, clonally derived neural stem cells could contribute to hematopoiesis. We investigated whether hematopoietic potential was a consistent or unusual feature of neural stem cells, and whether it depended on the extent of in vitro passaging before transplantation. Here we transplanted over 128 x 10(6) neurosphere cells into 128 host animals; however, we never observed contribution to hematopoiesis, irrespective of the number of passages and despite the use of an assay that could detect the contribution of a single blood stem cell to hematopoietic repopulation. Although extensively cultured neurosphere cells continued to generate neural progeny, marked changes in their growth properties occurred, including changes in growth-factor dependence, cell-cycle kinetics, cell adhesion and gene expression. Our results exclude hematopoietic competence as a consistent property of intravenously infused neural stem cells. However, the consistent changes that occurred during extended passaging are compatible with genetic or epigenetic alterations and suggest that rare transformation events may account for the neural-to-blood fate switch originally reported.

Sustained blood cell production depends on divisions by hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) that yield both differentiating progeny as well as new HSCs via self-renewal. Differentiating progeny remain capable of self-renewal, but only HSCs sustain self-renewal through successive divisions securely enough to maintain clones that persist life-long. Until recently, the first identified next stage consisted of "short-term" reconstituting cells able to sustain clones of differentiating cells for only 4-6 weeks. Here we expand evidence for a numerically dominant "intermediate-term" multipotent HSC stage in mice whose clones persist for 6-8 months before becoming extinct and that are separable from both short-term as well as permanently reconstituting "long-term" HSCs. The findings suggest that the first step in stem cell differentiation consists not in loss of initial capacity for serial self-renewal divisions, but rather in loss of mechanisms that stabilize self-renewing behavior throughout successive future stem cell divisions.

The engraftment of murine hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) into irradiated mice is thought to be an inefficient process, but has yet to be measured directly. We used two independent strategies to test their engraftment efficiency: one measured competition of unpurified donor bone marrow cells with recipient cells in murine hosts and the other tracked the engraftment of one highly purified stem cell injected per recipient. The results showed that stem cells engrafted with near absolute efficiency. Thus, inefficient engraftment cannot explain the low frequency of permanent reconstitutions observed with pure HSC fractions and instead suggests most initially engrafted cells fail to sustain self-renewal.

SummarySignals transduced through the T cell antigen receptor (TCR) are modulated by the src family tyrosine kinase p56 kk (lck), which associates in mature T cells with the coreceptor molecules CD4 and CD8. Here we describe a novel function oflck in immature CD4+CD8 + thymocytes, that of regulating TCR expression. Activation of lck in immature CD4 + CD8 + thymocytes by intrathymic engagement of CD4 maintains low TCR expression by causing most TCR components to be retained and degraded within the endoplasmic reticulum. Importantly, activation of lck in immature CD4 § CD8 § thymocytes results from engagement of surface CD4 molecules, but not surface CD8 molecules, despite the nearly fourfold greater surface expression of CD8 than CD4. The competence of CD4 to activate Ick in CD4 + CD8 § thymocytes relates to the fact that a relatively large fraction of surface CD4 molecules (25-50%) are associated with intracellular lck molecules, whereas only 2% of surface CD8 molecules are associated with lck. The amount of lck associated with CD4 in CD4+CD8 + thymocytes is diminished by chronic CD4 engagement in the thymus, as activated lck molecules subsequently dissociate from CD4. Indeed, the amount of lck associated with CD4 in CD4 § CD8 § thymocytes is markedly increased in major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II-mice that lack the intrathymic ligand for CD4 and in which surface CD4 molecules are consequently not engaged. Thus, the present study demonstrates that (a) activation of lck in CD4 + CD8 + thymocytes regulates distribution and expression of TCR components; (b) unlike CD4 molecules, CD8 molecules on CD4 + CD8 + thymocytes cannot efficiently activate lck despite their significantly greater surface expression; and (c) the amount of lck associated with CD4 in the CD4 +CD8 + thymocytes is inversely related to the extent of CD4 engagement by MHC class II molecules in the thymus.T he ability of immature precursor cells in the thymus to differentiate into mature T cells is dependent on the specificity of the TCR molecules that individual precursor cells express. Indeed, the TCR repertoire expressed by mature CD4 + and CD8 + T cells is selected from a broader TCR repertoire expressed by immature CD4+CD8 + thymocytes (1-3). Because the selection of immature CD4 + CD8 + thymocytes for differentiation into functional maturity is based on the specifidty of their surface TCR complexes, it is paradoxical that most CD4 + CD8 + thymocytes express few surface TCR complexes that are only marginally competent to mobilize intracellular calcium (4)(5)(6). We have previously demonstrated that the number of surface TCR complexes expressed by CD4 +CD8 + thymocytes is regulated, at least in part, by CD4 inhibitory signals generated in vivo (6-8). The molecular mechanism by which CD4 signals regulate TCR expression in immature CD4 + CD8 + thymocytes is not known, but it is known that such signals result in retention and degradation of most newly synthesized TCR chains within a pre-Golgi compartment (9).

Gata3 is expressed and required for differentiation and function throughout the T lymphocyte lineage. Despite evidence it may also be expressed in multipotent hematopoietic stem cells (HSC), any role in these cells has remained unclear. Here we show GATA3 was cytoplasmic in quiescent long-term stem cells from steady state bone marrow, but relocated to the nucleus when HSC cycle. Relocation depended on p38-MAPK signaling and was associated with diminished capacity for long-term reconstitution upon transfer to irradiated mice. Deletion of Gata3 enhanced repopulating capacity and augmented self-renewal of long term HSC in cell-autonomous fashion, without affecting cell cycle. These observations position Gata3 as a regulator of the balance between self-renewal and differentiation in HSC acting downstream of the p38 signaling pathway.

• Intrathymic T-cell regeneration is facilitated by human proTcells generated in vitro.• In vitro-generated human proT-cells home to the thymus, wherein they restore thymic structure.Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is followed by a period of immune deficiency due to a paucity in T-cell reconstitution. Underlying causes are a severely dysfunctional thymus and an impaired production of thymus-seeding progenitors in the host. Here, we addressed whether in vitro-derived human progenitor T (proT)-cells could not only represent a source of thymus-seeding progenitors, but also able to influence the recovery of the thymic microenvironment. We examined whether co-transplantation of in vitro-derived human proT-cells with hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) was able to facilitate HSC-derived T-lymphopoiesis posttransplant. A competitive transfer approach was used to define the optimal proT subset capable of reconstituting immunodeficient mice. Although the 2 subsets tested (proT1,1 ) showed thymus engrafting function, proT2-cells exhibited superior engrafting capacity. Based on this, when proT2-cells were coinjected with HSCs, a significantly improved and accelerated HSC-derived T-lymphopoiesis was observed. Furthermore, we uncovered a potential mechanism by which receptor activator of nuclear factor kb (RANK) ligand-expressing proT2-cells induce changes in both the function and architecture of the thymus microenvironment, which favors the recruitment of bone marrow-derived lymphoid progenitors. Our findings provide further support for the use of Notch-expanded progenitors in cellbased therapies to aid in the recovery of T-cells in patients undergoing HSCT. (Blood. 2013;122(26):4210-4219)

Antigen recognition by T cells bearing αβ T cell receptors (TCRs) is restricted by major histocompatibility complex (MHC). However, how antigens are recognized by T cells bearing γδ TCRs remains unclear. Although γδ T cells can recognize nonclassical MHC, it is generally thought that recognition of antigens is not MHC restricted. Here, we took advantage of an in vitro system to generate antigen-specific human T cells and show that melanoma-associated antigens, MART-1 and gp100, can be recognized by γδ T cells in an MHC-restricted fashion. Cloning and transferring of MART-1–specific γδ TCRs restored the specific recognition of the initial antigen MHC/peptide reactivity and conferred antigen-specific functional responses. A crystal structure of a MART-1–specific γδ TCR, together with MHC/peptide, revealed distinctive but similar docking properties to those previously reported for αβ TCRs, recognizing MART-1 on HLA-A*0201. Our work shows that antigen-specific and MHC-restricted γδ T cells can be generated in vitro and that MART-1–specific γδ T cells can also be found and cloned from the naïve repertoire. These findings reveal that classical MHC-restricted human γδ TCRs exist in the periphery and have the potential to be used in developing of new TCR-based immunotherapeutic approaches.

Key Points Notch signals expand human HSC (CD90low) cells in vitro and delay the expansion of CD45RAint and CD45RAhi cells in vitro. HSCs expanded in vitro are equal to ex vivo CD90low cells in immune reconstitution.