Little is known about how hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) self-renew. We studied the regeneration of HSCs in culture. Effects of various cytokines on cell division of CD34−/low c-Kit+Sca-1+ lineage marker–negative (CD34−KSL) bone marrow cells of the mouse were first evaluated in serum-free single cell culture. We then performed a competitive repopulation assay on divided cells to ask if such cell division involved self-renewal of HSCs.
In the presence of stem cell factor (SCF), thrombopoietin (TPO) induced a first cell division of CD34−KSL cells more efficiently than did interleukin (IL)-3 or IL-6. Multilineage repopulating cells were detected in a significant proportion of cells derived from single cells in culture with TPO and SCF, although this culture condition led to a substantial decrease in HSC number. These regenerated repopulating cells could be further transplanted into secondary recipients. When paired daughter cells were separately studied, one of a pair gave rise to repopulating cells with self-renewal potential, suggesting asymmetric self-renewal division. This study provides evidence that one HSC regenerates at least one HSC in culture.
