Mechanisms of Aging Vary with Developmental Stages in the Human Hematopoietic Trajectory

Background : Hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) undergo functional changes with age. An unresolved issue is whether aging is induced by a shift in intrinsic state in which all HSPCs undergo coordinated changes in functional potential, or by clonal evolution of a senescent population.Identification of senescent cells in human hematopoiesis poses another challenge. In this study, we have identified lineage-specific, senescence-associated pathways at different developmental stages of HSPCs and have developed an “aging signature HSC” for non-primed human HSCs. Methods: HSPCs (CD34+ cells) were isolated from the bone marrow of healthy human subjects (old = >60 years; young = 21 to