Constituent components of the hematopoietic stem cell niche

Stem cell fate is influenced by specialized microenvironments that remain poorly defined in mammals. Hematopoietic stem cells reside in a specialized niche that regulates their abundance and fate. Components of the niche have generally been defined in terms of cells and signaling pathways. Osteoblastic cells represent a regulatory cellular component of the hematopoietic stem cell niche that influences stem cell function through Notch activation. We define a role for a matrix glycoprotein, osteopontin (OPN), as a non-cellular constraining factor on hematopoietic stem cells within the bone marrow microenvironment. Osteoblasts that participate in the niche produce varying amounts of OPN in response to stimulation. Using studies that combine OPN-deficient mice and exogenous OPN, we demonstrate that OPN modifies primitive hematopoietic cell number and function in a stem cell–nonautonomous manner. The OPN-null microenvironment was sufficient to increase the number of stem cells associated with increased stromal Jagged1 and Angiopoietin-1 expression and reduced primitive hematopoietic cell apoptosis. The activation of the stem cell microenvironment with parathyroid hormone induced a superphysiologic increase in stem cells in the absence of OPN. Therefore, OPN is a negative regulatory element of the stem cell niche that limits the size of the stem cell pool and may provide a mechanism for restricting excess stem cell expansion under conditions of niche stimulation.