Autophagy in hematopoietic stem cell development of the embryo

ABSTRACT

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) emerge from hemogenic endothelial cells (HEC) in the aorta-gonad-mesonephros (AGM) region of embryos, which go through the pre-HSC process. Various intrinsic and extrinsic factors are involved in this process. We recently discovered that the existence of distinct macroautophagic/autophagic statuses in hematopoietic precursors is related to the hematopoietic potential of pre-HSCs and the depletion of the Atg5 (autophagy related 5) gene specifically in endothelial cells impaired in the transition of endothelial to pre-HSCs, by hampering the autophagic process, likely via the NCL (nucleolin) pathway.Abbreviation: Atg5: autophagy related 5; EGFP: enhanced green fluorescent protein; EHT: endothelial-to-hematopoietic transition; HEC: hemogenic endothelial cell; HSC: hematopoietic stem cell; NCL: nucleolin; RFP: red fluorescent protein.

KEYWORDS:

• Atg5
• autophagy
• hematopoietic development
• hematopoietic precursors
• hematopoietic stem cells
• NCL

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

All data generated during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by grants from the National Key Research and Development Program (2019YFA0801802), and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (82070105) to Z. L.