Hematopoietic stem cells represent a rare population in the bone marrow, with the capacity of generating all blood lineage and themselves at the same time. With aging, the reconstitution capacity of hematopoietic stem cells decreases accompanying with differentiation skewing wherein the myeloid branch dominates in both mouse and human. In recent years, various molecular mechanisms that induce functional decline of HSC during aging were disclosed including DNA damage accumulation, metabolic alteration, defects in protein homeostasis, and aging-induced changes in the blood circulatory environment. Deciphering the nature of HSC aging could improve our knowledge of HSC aging-related diseases and furthermore promote the developing of therapeutic interventions for human HSC aging and diseases.
Keywords: Aging; Differentiation; Hematopoietic stem cell; Leukemia; Self-renewal.