Spred1 Safeguards Hematopoietic Homeostasis against Diet-Induced Systemic Stress

Journal:
Cell Stem Cell
Published:
DOI:
10.1016/j.stem.2018.04.002
Affiliations:
12
Authors:
17
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Research Highlight

An unhealthy Spred

© Kay Chernush/Photolibrary/Getty

A high-fat diet leads to dysfunction in a master regulatory protein that keeps stem cells working to form new blood.

The protein, known as Spred1, normally prevents the aberrant self-renewal of blood-forming stem cells in the bone marrow. Under normal conditions, Spred1 is not essential for the cells to strike the right balance between replenishment and differentiation. Using mice fed a lard-based diet, the Kanazawa University–led team demonstrated that only under a lifestyle-associated stress, such as consuming a high-fat diet, is Spred1 critical to maintaining the precise regulation of stem cell function.

Without a working copy of Spred1, excessive stem cell proliferation took place, which led to severe anaemia and a form of blood cancer. They thus suggest that drugs designed to boost Spred1 function could help treat leukaemia and other diseases caused by dysregulated blood-forming stem cells.

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References

  1. Cell Stem Cell 22, 713–725 (2018). doi: 10.1016/j.stem.2018.04.002
Institutions Authors Share
Kanazawa University (KU), Japan
6.000000
 0.35
WPI Nano Life Science Institute (WPI-NanoLSI), KU, Japan
3.000000
 0.18
The University of Tokyo (UTokyo), Japan
1.500000
 0.09
Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research (JFCR), Japan
1.500000
 0.09
Kyoto University, Japan
1.000000
 0.06
Institute of Hematology and Blood Diseases Hospital, CAMS & PUMC, China
1.000000
 0.06
Kyushu University, Japan
1.000000
 0.06
Keio University, Japan
1.000000
 0.06
Osaka University, Japan
0.500000
 0.03
Stanford Medicine, United States of America (USA)
0.500000
 0.03