Bone marrow fibrosis is the most extensive matrix remodeling of the microenvironment and can include de novo formation of bone (osteosclerosis). Spatiotemporal information on the contribution of distinct bone marrow niche populations to this process is incomplete. We demonstrate that fibrosis-inducing hematopoietic cells cause profibrotic reprogramming of perivascular CXCL12-abundant reticular (CAR) progenitor cells, resulting in loss of their hematopoiesis-support and upregulation of osteogenic and pro-apoptotic programs. In turn, peritrabecular osteolineage cells (OLCs) are activated in an injury-specific, Wnt-dependent manner, comparable to skeletal repair. OLCs fuel bone marrow fibrosis through their expansion and skewed differentiation, resulting in osteosclerosis and expansion of Ly6a+ fibroblasts. NCAM1 expression marks peritrabecular OLCs and their expansion into the central marrow is specific for fibrosis in mice and patients. Peritrabecular stromal β-catenin expression is linked to fibrosis in patients, and inhibition of Wnt signaling reduces bone marrow fibrosis and osteosclerosis, possibly being a clinically relevant therapeutic target.

Bone marrow (BM) cavity is the primary site of life-long blood cell production, termed hematopoiesis, sustained by HSCs. During embryonic and early postnatal development, HSC pool undergoes exponential growth through constant proliferation to meet the increasing hematopoietic demand. As adult body-size is reached, the majority of HSCs switches to quiescent state. In recent years, major advances have been made in understanding how the adult BM controls quiescent HSC in specific anatomical niches. Nonetheless, cellular/molecular mechanisms enforcing active proliferation of postnatal HSCs remain largely unknown.IGF2 is a mitogenic cue, crucial for cell proliferation and fetal growth in various organs. It has been proposed to facilitate HSC expansion in fetal liver and basal HSC proliferation in adult BM. Yet, the potential role of IGF2 in postnatal BM and the sources supplying IGF2 in this critical period remain unknown. Recent RNA-seq studies suggest IGF2/IGF1R signaling is a key axis between BM stroma and HSPCs in pre/postnatal hematopoiesis. In line with this, we find IGF2 levels peak in the BM at birth and gradually decrease to undetectable by adulthood. Our results further indicate during this period Igf2 expression is abundant in a fraction of periarterial mesenchymal Pdgfra+Sca1+ cells. Thus, to ascertain the functional significance of IGF2, we are investigating mouse models wherein Igf2 expression is deleted in various cell types. Our results demonstrate absence of Igf2 in both the mesenchymal and hematopoietic compartments does not lead to detectable alterations of the hematopoietic system in postnatal nor adult BM. Our ongoing work focuses on determining whether endothelial-specific, or systemic deletion of Igf2 causes quantitative or functional changes in HSC pool.

Bone remodeling occurs actively alongside bone marrow (BM) fibrosis in the context of myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN). Osteosclerosis in MPN is characterized by para-trabecular apposition of new bone and increase in bone density. Yet, the pathogenesis of osteosclerosis is largely unknown and it remains an unanswered question how the 1) peri-vascular, and 2) endosteal stromal niche contribute to the formation of new bone. Here, we employed genetic fate tracing and high-resolution imaging combined with single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq) to map out the BM stromal niche in steady-state, after transplant of control or thrombopoietin (ThPO)-overexpressing hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) which robustly and with defined kinetics results in BM fibrosis/osteosclerosis. High-resolution confocal imaging revealed that PdgfrbCreERt2-derived tdTomato+ cells are abundant throughout the whole marrow, growth plate and bone. Gli1CreERt2;tdTomato+ have a distinct localization specifically at the growth plate, in the trabecular region of the metaphysis and around the central artery in the diaphysis. Grem1CreERt2;tdTomato+ cells are the least abundant, specifically located at the growth plate. Integrated data sets provided a high resolution of the BM stroma representing Cxcl12-abundant reticular (CAR) cells, fibroblasts (FBs), osteo-lineage cells (OLCs), osteoblasts (OBs), (pre)chondrocytes, Schwann cells and endothelial subpopulations. We next asked how these different subsets contribute to BM fibrosis and osteosclerosis. CAR cells were functionally reprogrammed in fibrosis: they lost their hematopoiesis-supporting capacity, gained a pro-fibrotic phenotype, produced extra-cellular matrix (ECM) and were less frequent compared to control conditions. BM-resident FBs rather gained a pro-inflammatory phenotype, comparable to inflammatory fibroblasts described in solid organ fibrosis, and were enriched in fibrosis but did not show a "pro-fibrotic" expression profile. Strikingly, the major expansion of tdTomato+ stromal cells occurred at the metaphysis, overlapping with increased reticulin deposition in this region. Deconvolution revealed that mainly OLCs, pre-chondrocytes and chondrocytes but also FBs reside in the metaphysis. Cell trajectory analysis suggested that a subset of OLCs acts as a mesenchymal precursor reservoir for OBs, chondrocytes and FBs. In line with our hypothesis, only metaphyseal, but not diaphyseal, PdgfrbCreERt2;tdTomato+ cells from steady-state mice harbored CFU-F capacity and gave rise to colonies in vitro. Receptor-ligand interaction demonstrated that OLCs function as important information-hubs to CAR cells after BM transplantation compared to steady-state bone. This pro-regenerative phase is characterized by upregulation of adipogenesis-related genes, potentially prompting the BM niche to recover hematopoiesis. In response to a fibrotic cue, OLCs expand, lose cellular crosstalk reflected by decreased receptor-ligand pairs, downregulate adipogenic signatures but upregulate osteogenic signatures, thus skewing the BM stroma towards osteogenesis. Time-course imaging of the stepwise invasion of Gli1CreERt2;tdTomato+ cells into the BM from the growth plate additionally highlighted the active bone remodeling occurring at the chondrocyte-OLC border during fibrosis. µCT imaging revealed increased ossification specifically at the metaphyseal region. Pathways analysis demonstrated that metaphyseal cells remain active even in progressed fibrosis and show enriched Wnt, PI3K and ECM receptor signaling. Interestingly, Wnt pathway inhibitors were downregulated in pro-fibrotic-CAR cells, whereas Wnt signaling was increased in OLCs as mesenchymal progenitor cells upon fibrotic transformation. In summary, we provide evidence that active bone remodeling is co-occurring with the fibrotic transformation with a skewing of stromal-cell fate towards osteogenesis rather than adipogenesis. Our analysis highlights the functional differences of metaphyseal and diaphyseal macro-niches within bone and postulates that a metaphyseal stromal progenitor is activated in an injury-specific manner, being an attractive cellular target.

Chronic viral infections are associated with hematopoietic suppression, bone marrow (BM) failure, and hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) exhaustion. However, how persistent viral challenge and inflammatory responses target BM tissues and perturb hematopoietic competence remains poorly understood. Here, we combine functional analyses with advanced 3D microscopy to demonstrate that chronic infection with lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus leads to (1) long-lasting decimation of the BM stromal network of mesenchymal CXCL12-abundant reticular cells, (2) proinflammatory transcriptional remodeling of remaining components of this key niche subset, and (3) durable functional defects and decreased competitive fitness in HSCs. Mechanistically, BM immunopathology is elicited by virus-specific, activated CD8 T cells, which accumulate in the BM via interferon-dependent mechanisms. Combined antibody-mediated inhibition of type I and II IFN pathways completely preempts degeneration of CARc and protects HSCs from chronic dysfunction. Hence, viral infections and ensuing immune reactions durably impact BM homeostasis by persistently decreasing the competitive fitness of HSCs and disrupting essential stromal-derived, hematopoietic-supporting cues.

The bone marrow (BM) is the primary hematopoietic organ and a hub in which organismal demands for blood cellular output are systematically monitored. BM tissues are additionally home to a plethora of mature immune cell types, providing functional environments for the activation of immune responses and acting as preferred anatomical reservoirs for cells involved in immunological memory. Stromal cells of the BM microenvironment crucially govern different aspects of organ function, by structuring tissue microanatomy and by directly providing essential regulatory cues to hematopoietic and immune components in distinct niches. Emerging evidence demonstrates that stromal networks are endowed with remarkable functional and structural plasticity. Stress-induced adaptations of stromal cells translate into demand-driven hematopoiesis. Furthermore, aberrations of stromal integrity arising from pathological conditions critically contribute to the dysregulation of BM function. Here, we summarize our current understanding of the alterations that pathogenic infections and ensuing inflammatory conditions elicit on the global topography of the BM microenvironment, the integrity of anatomical niches and cellular interactions, and ultimately, on the regulatory function of diverse stromal subsets.

A recurring feature of innate immune receptor signaling is the self-assembly of signaling proteins into oligomeric complexes. The Myddosome is an oligomeric complex that is required to transmit inflammatory signals from TLR/IL1Rs and consists of MyD88 and IRAK family kinases. However, the molecular basis for how Myddosome proteins self-assemble and regulate intracellular signaling remains poorly understood. Here, we developed a novel assay to analyze the spatiotemporal dynamics of IL1R and Myddosome signaling in live cells. We found that MyD88 oligomerization is inducible and initially reversible. Moreover, the formation of larger, stable oligomers consisting of more than fourMyD88s triggers the sequential recruitment of IRAK4 and IRAK1. Notably, genetic knockout of IRAK4 enhanced MyD88 oligomerization, indicating that IRAK4 controls MyD88 oligomer size and growth. MyD88 oligomer size thus functions as a physical threshold to trigger downstream signaling. These results provide a mechanistic basis for how protein oligomerization might function in cell signaling pathways.

The soft marrow tissues, which are found disseminated throughout bone cavities, are prime sites for hematopoietic cell production, development, and control of immune responses, and regulation of skeletal metabolism. These essential functions are executed through the concerted and finely tuned interaction of a large variety of cell types of hematopoietic and nonhematopoietic origin, through yet largely unknown sophisticated molecular mechanisms. A fundamental insight of the biological underpinnings of organ function can be gained from the microscopic study of the bone marrow (BM), its complex structural organization and the existence of cell-specific spatial associations. Albeit the application of advanced imaging techniques to the analysis of BM has historically proved challenging, recent technological developments now enable the interrogation of organ-wide regions of marrow tissues in three dimensions at high resolution. Here, we provide a detailed experimental protocol for the generation of thick slices of BM from murine femoral cavities, the immunostaining of cellular and structural components within these samples, and their optical clearing, which enhances the depth at which optical sectioning can be performed with standard confocal microscopes. Collectively, the experimental pipeline here described allows for the rendering of single-cell resolution, multidimensional reconstructions of vast volumes of the complex BM microenvironment.

A recurring feature of innate immune receptor signaling is the self-assembly of signaling proteins into oligomeric complexes. The Myddosome is an oligomeric complex that is required to transmit inflammatory signals from TLR/IL1Rs and consists of MyD88 and IRAK family kinases. However, the molecular basis for how Myddosome proteins self-assemble and regulate intracellular signaling remains poorly understood. Here, we developed a novel assay to analyze the spatiotemporal dynamics of IL1R and Myddosome signaling in live cells. We found that MyD88 oligomerization is inducible and initially reversible. Moreover, the formation of larger, stable oligomers consisting of more than 4 MyD88s triggers the sequential recruitment of IRAK4 and IRAK1. Notably, genetic knockout of IRAK4 enhanced MyD88 oligomerization, indicating that IRAK4 controls MyD88 oligomer size and growth. MyD88 oligomer size thus functions as a physical threshold to trigger downstream signaling. These results provide a mechanistic basis for how protein oligomerization might function in cell signaling pathways.

One of the great challenges in biology is to understand the emergence of spatial and temporal order in cellular processes. This challenge is particularly relevant to cell signaling, where the localized assembly and activation of protein complexes is used to control everything from cell fate to hormone release. While several decades of research have yielded many of the players in signaling pathways, most of the fundamental, conceptual questions of how signaling works at a molecular level remain mysterious. Immune cell activation represents an ideal system for understanding the spatial and temporal dynamics of cell signaling since the immune system faces an extreme version of many of the problems that all signaling systems must face: how to discriminate between closely related signals and activate the appropriate pathway even when the amount of signal is vanishingly small. In this paper, we have used high-resolution Total Internal Reflection Fluorescent (TIRF) imaging combined with functionalized supported lipid bilayers and engineered receptors and cell lines to visualize the molecular dynamics of immune signaling pathways. We will give details of our experiments that have revealed how the T cell receptor and IL1 receptor signaling networks activate an immune response.