Circulating Hematopoietic Stem and Progenitor Cells in Aging Atomic Bomb Survivors
- Radiation Effects Research Foundation, Hiroshima (Japan).
- Radiation Effects Research Foundation, Hiroshima (Japan). Dept. of Statistics
- Radiation Effects Research Foundation, Hiroshima (Japan). Dept. of Clinical Studies
- Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY (United States). Dept. of Medicine and Immunology
- Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY (United States). Cell Biology Program
It is not yet known whether hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) are compromised in the aging population of atomic bomb (A-bomb) survivors after their exposure nearly 70 years ago. To address this, we evaluated age- and radiation-related changes in different subtypes of circulating HSPCs among the CD34-positive/lineage marker-negative (CD34+Lin- ) cell population in 231 Hiroshima A-bomb survivors. We enumerated functional HSPC subtypes, including: cobblestone area-forming cells; long-term culture-initiating cells; erythroid burst-forming units; granulocyte and macrophage colony-forming units; and T-cell and natural killer cell progenitors using cell culture. We obtained the count of each HSPC subtype per unit volume of blood and the proportion of each HSPC subtype in CD34+Lin- cells to represent the lineage commitment trend. Multivariate analyses, using sex, age and radiation dose as variables, showed significantly decreased counts with age in the total CD34+Lin- cell population and all HSPC subtypes. As for the proportion, only T-cell progenitors decreased significantly with age, suggesting that the commitment to the T-cell lineage in HSPCs continuously declines with age throughout the lifetime. However, neither the CD34+Lin- cell population, nor HSPC subtypes showed significant radiation-induced dose-dependent changes in counts or proportions. Moreover, the correlations of the proportions among HSPC subtypes in the survivors properly revealed the hierarchy of lineage commitments. In conclusion, taken together, our findings suggest that many years after exposure to radiation and with advancing age, the number and function of HSPCs in living survivors as a whole may have recovered to normal levels.
- Research Organization:
- National Academy of Sciences, Washington, DC (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE; National Institutes of Health (NIH)
- Grant/Contract Number:
- HS0000031; HHSN272200900059C
- OSTI ID:
- 1467450
- Journal Information:
- Radiation Research, Vol. 185, Issue 1; ISSN 0033-7587
- Publisher:
- Radiation Research SocietyCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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