Multiparameter analysis of timelapse imaging reveals kinetics of megakaryocytic erythroid progenitor clonal expansion and differentiation.

Single-cell assays have enriched our understanding of hematopoiesis and, more generally, stem and progenitor cell biology. However, these single-end-point approaches provide only a static snapshot of the state of a cell. To observe and measure dynamic changes that may instruct cell fate, we developed an approach for examining hematopoietic progenitor fate specification using long-term (> 7-day) single-cell time-lapse imaging for up to 13 generations with in situ fluorescence staining of primary human hematopoietic progenitors followed by algorithm-assisted lineage tracing. We analyzed progenitor cell dynamics, including the division rate, velocity, viability, and probability of lineage commitment at the single-cell level over time. We applied a Markov probabilistic model to predict progenitor division outcome over each generation in culture. We demonstrated the utility of this methodological pipeline by evaluating the effects of the cytokines thrombopoietin and erythropoietin on the dynamics of self-renewal and lineage specification in primary human bipotent megakaryocytic-erythroid progenitors (MEPs). Our data support the hypothesis that thrombopoietin and erythropoietin support the viability and self-renewal of MEPs, but do not affect fate specification. Thus, single-cell tracking of time-lapse imaged colony-forming unit assays provides a robust method for assessing the dynamics of progenitor self-renewal and lineage commitment.

Structure-function analysis of the role of megakaryoblastic leukemia 1 in megakaryocyte polyploidization.

Not available.

Melanoma-Secreted Amyloid Beta Suppresses Neuroinflammation and Promotes Brain Metastasis.

Brain metastasis is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in multiple cancer types and represents an unmet clinical need. The mechanisms that mediate metastatic cancer growth in the brain parenchyma are largely unknown. Melanoma, which has the highest rate of brain metastasis among common cancer types, is an ideal model to study how cancer cells adapt to the brain parenchyma. Our unbiased proteomics analysis of melanoma short-term cultures revealed that proteins implicated in neurodegenerative pathologies are differentially expressed in melanoma cells explanted from brain metastases compared with those derived from extracranial metastases. We showed that melanoma cells require amyloid beta (Aß) for growth and survival in the brain parenchyma. Melanoma-secreted Aß activates surrounding astrocytes to a prometastatic, anti-inflammatory phenotype and prevents phagocytosis of melanoma by microglia. Finally, we demonstrate that pharmacologic inhibition of Aß decreases brain metastatic burden. SIGNIFICANCE: Our results reveal a novel mechanistic connection between brain metastasis and Alzheimer's disease, two previously unrelated pathologies; establish Aß as a promising therapeutic target for brain metastasis; and demonstrate suppression of neuroinflammation as a critical feature of metastatic adaptation to the brain parenchyma. This article is highlighted in the In This Issue feature, p. 1171.