Generation and characterization of the Eµ-Irf8 mouse model.

In mature B-cell malignancies, chromosomal translocations often juxtapose an oncogenic locus to the regulatory regions of the immunoglobulin genes. These genomic rearrangements can associate with specific clinical/pathological sub-entities and inform diagnosis and treatment decisions. Recently, we characterized the t(14;16)(q32;q24) in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), and showed that it targets the transcription factor IRF8, which is also somatically mutated in ~10% of DLBCLs. IRF8 regulates innate and adaptive immune responses mediated by myeloid/monocytic and lymphoid cells. While the role of IRF8 in human myeloid/dendritic-cell disorders is well established, less is known of its contribution to the pathogenesis of mature B-cell malignancies. To address this knowledge gap, we generated the Eµ-Irf8 mouse model, which mimics the IRF8 deregulation associated with t(14;16) of DLBCL. Eµ-Irf8 mice develop normally and display peripheral blood cell parameters within normal range. However, Eµ-Irf8 mice accumulate pre-pro-B-cells and transitional B-cells in the bone marrow and spleen, respectively, suggesting that the physiological role of Irf8 in B-cell development is amplified. Notably, in Eµ-Irf8 mice, the lymphomagenic Irf8 targets Aicda and Bcl6 are overexpressed in mature B-cells. Yet, the incidence of B-cell lymphomas is not increased in the Eµ-Irf8 model, even though their estimated survival probability is significantly lower than that of WT controls. Together, these observations suggest that the penetrance on the Irf8-driven phenotype may be incomplete and that introduction of second genetic hit, a common strategy in mouse models of lymphoma, may be necessary to uncover the pro-lymphoma phenotype of the Eµ-Irf8 mice.

Mobilization-based transplantation of young-donor hematopoietic stem cells extends lifespan in mice.

Mammalian aging is associated with reduced tissue regeneration and loss of physiological integrity. With age, stem cells diminish in their ability to regenerate adult tissues, likely contributing to age-related morbidity. Thus, we replaced aged hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) with young-donor HSCs using a novel mobilization-enabled hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) technology as an alternative to the highly toxic conditioning regimens used in conventional HSCT. Using this approach, we are the first to report an increase in median lifespan (12%) and a decrease in overall mortality hazard (HR: 0.42, CI: 0.273-0.638) in aged mice following transplantation of young-donor HSCs. The increase in longevity was accompanied by reductions of frailty measures and increases in food intake and body weight of aged recipients. Young-donor HSCs not only preserved youthful function within the aged bone marrow stroma, but also at least partially ameliorated dysfunctional hematopoietic phenotypes of aged recipients. This compelling evidence that mammalian health and lifespan can be extended through stem cell therapy adds a new category to the very limited list of successful anti-aging/life-extending interventions. Our findings have implications for further development of stem cell therapies for increasing health and lifespan.

Co-transmission of Related Malaria Parasite Lineages Shapes Within-Host Parasite Diversity.

In high-transmission regions, we expect parasite lineages within complex malaria infections to be unrelated due to parasite inoculations from different mosquitoes. This project was designed to test this prediction. We generated 485 single-cell genome sequences from fifteen P. falciparum malaria patients from Chikhwawa, Malawi-an area of intense transmission. Patients harbored up to seventeen unique parasite lineages. Surprisingly, parasite lineages within infections tend to be closely related, suggesting that superinfection by repeated mosquito bites is rarer than co-transmission of parasites from a single mosquito. Both closely and distantly related parasites comprise an infection, suggesting sequential transmission of complex infections between multiple hosts. We identified tetrads and reconstructed parental haplotypes, which revealed the inbred ancestry of infections and non-Mendelian inheritance. Our analysis suggests strong barriers to secondary infection and outbreeding amongst malaria parasites from a high transmission setting, providing unexpected insights into the biology and transmission of malaria.

Characterization of mammary epithelial stem/progenitor cells and their changes with aging in common marmosets.

Age is the number one risk factor for breast cancer, yet the underlying mechanisms are unexplored. Age-associated mammary stem cell (MaSC) dysfunction is thought to play an important role in breast cancer carcinogenesis. Non-human primates with their close phylogenetic relationship to humans provide a powerful model system to study the effects of aging on human MaSC. In particular, the common marmoset monkey (Callithrix jacchus) with a relatively short life span is an ideal model for aging research. In the present study, we characterized for the first time the mammary epithelial stem/progenitor cells in the common marmoset. The MaSC-enriched cells formed four major types of morphologically distinct colonies when cultured on plates pre-seeded with irradiated NIH3T3 fibroblasts, and were also capable of forming mammospheres in suspension culture and subsequent formation of 3D organoids in Matrigel culture. Most importantly, these 3D organoids were found to contain stem/progenitor cells that can undergo self-renewal and multi-lineage differentiation both in vitro and in vivo. We also observed a significant decrease of luminal-restricted progenitors with age. Our findings demonstrate that common marmoset mammary stem/progenitor cells can be isolated and quantified with established in vitro and in vivo assays used for mouse and human studies.

Mammospheres from murine mammary stem cell-enriched basal cells: clonal characteristics and repopulating potential.

Identification of murine mammary stem cells (MaSCs) has been attempted with various in vitro and in vivo assays. While, the in vivo repopulation assay remains as the most definitive assay for MaSC detection, it is expensive, time-consuming, and technically challenging. The in vitro mammosphere assay was considered unreliable because of major concerns about its clonal origin. In the current study, co-culture experiments with mammary cells from fluorescent protein transgenic mice and time-lapse video microscopy revealed that >90% mammospheres formed from sorted basal epithelial-enriched cells were of clonal origin in terms of stem cell. These basal-cell derived mammospheres were further distinguished morphologically in a 3-dimensional extracellular matrix culture and functionally in the in vivo repopulation assay. Transplant of single mammospheres or the resultant 3-dimensional solid structures into gland-free mammary fat pads yielded a 70% success rate of multilineage mammary gland reconstitution. Thus, this in vitro sphere formation and differentiation assay is a reliable alternative to the in vivo repopulation assay for the study of MaSCs.