Stem cells and the aging hematopoietic system.
Advancing age is accompanied by a number of clinically significant conditions arising in the hematopoietic system that include: diminution and decreased competence of the adaptive immune system, elevated incidence of certain autoimmune diseases, increased hematological malignancies, and elevated incidence of age-associated anemia. As with most tissues, the aged hematopoietic system also exhibits a reduced capacity to regenerate and return to normal homeostasis after injury or stress. Evidence suggests age-dependent functional alterations within the hematopoietic stem cell compartment significantly contribute to many of these pathophysiologies. Recent developments have shed light on how aging of the hematopoietic stem cell compartment contributes to hematopoietic decline through diverse mechanisms.
Beerman
Isabel
I
Department of Pathology, Harvard Medical School, Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Immune Disease Institute, Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Children's Hospital Boston, Boston, MA 02115, USA. beerman@idi.harvard.edu
Maloney
William J
WJ
Weissmann
Irving L
IL
Rossi
Derrick J
DJ
D056704:Adaptive Immunity; D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology; D016922:Cellular Senescence / Q000276:immunology*; D006412:Hematopoietic Stem Cells / Q000502:physiology*; D006413:Hematopoietic System / Q000276:immunology*; D006801:Humans