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Stem cells

A seed-and-soil theory for blood ageing

Nature Cell Biology volume 25, pages 9–11 (2023)Cite this article

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The bone marrow is the daily production site for hundreds of billions of blood cells. A new study adds evidence that, during ageing, signals emanating from bone-marrow stromal cells shift to produce inflammatory factors that skew blood-cell output, driving age-related tissue deterioration.

Blood flowing through our bodies connects and facilitates communication between all organs1. Notably, some recent evidence suggests that blood cells and bloodborne factors may also hold the key to youthfulness2. A crucial source of age-regulating bloodborne factors could be the bone marrow — a diverse network of numerous stem-cell systems that is the primary site of production of adult blood and immune cells. Throughout the body, stem cells provide a continuous source of new cells needed for development, growth, and replacement of damaged or senescent cells. Not surprisingly, therefore, disrupted tissue homeostasis resulting from stem-cell dysfunction has been postulated to drive age-related decline. In the bones, age-related factors that are intrinsic to bone-marrow stroma and blood cells have been extensively explored3,4,5. But changes in the ‘soil’— extrinsic factors such as molecules involved in cellular crosstalk in stem-cell-regulating niches — remain incompletely understood6. In this issue of Nature Cell Biology, however, Mitchell et al.7 uncover a new, drug-targetable communication pathway in the bone marrow that results in changes in blood-cell output during ageing.

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Fig. 1: Ageing of the stromal niche in the bone marrow affects the output of blood stem cells.

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Author notes

  1. The authors contributed equally: Thomas H. Ambrosi, Charles K. F. Chan.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA

    Thomas H. Ambrosi & Charles K. F. Chan

  2. Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Surgery, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA

    Thomas H. Ambrosi & Charles K. F. Chan

Authors
  1. Thomas H. Ambrosi
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  2. Charles K. F. Chan
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Correspondence to Charles K. F. Chan.

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Ambrosi, T.H., Chan, C.K.F. A seed-and-soil theory for blood ageing. Nat Cell Biol 25, 9–11 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41556-022-01062-z

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