Epigenetic regulation of hematopoietic stem cell fate

Abstract

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) sustain blood cell production throughout the mammalian life span. However, it has become clear that at the single cell level a subset of HSCs is stably biased in their lineage output, and that such heterogeneity may play a key role in physiological processes including aging and adaptive immunity. Analysis of chromatin accessibility, DNA methylation, and histone modifications has revealed that HSCs with different lineage bias exhibit distinct epigenetic traits inscribed at poised, lineage-specific enhancers. This allows for lineage priming without initiating lineage-specific gene expression in HSCs, controlling lineage bias while preserving self-renewal and multipotency. Here, we review our current understanding of epigenetic regulation in the establishment and maintenance of HSC fate decisions under different physiological conditions.