Identification of novel mechanisms controlling emergency granulopoiesis in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells

Granulocytes represent the first line of defense against bacteria and fungi. Daily production of granulocytes is sustained by steady state granulopoiesis but under stress (e.g., bacterial infection) this program switches to emergency granulopoiesis (EG) which ensures the production of granulocytes at enhanced and accelerated rates. Very little is known about the regulation of EG. In this thesis, we showed that disruption of the β-catenin-TCF/LEF mediated transcription impairs EG in vivo. Further, we demonstrated that lipopolysaccharide (LPS) administration in mice induces accumulation of active β-catenin in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) as early as 4 hours (H) after stimulation, with highest increase at 24H. This effect was at least partially mediated in a niche independent manner, since LPS stimulation in vitro induced β-catenin accumulation in c-Kit+ cells after 2H, with a peak activation at 4H. Using single cell RNA sequencing, we determined the cell cluster dynamics of HSPCs following 4H LPS stimulation. Interestingly, we identified a possible upstream activator of β- catenin in one of the clusters - Wnt10b. Indeed, Wnt10b showed a similar expression pattern as EG master regulator Cebpb and β-catenin activation, following in vitro treatment with LPS. Altogether, our data point..