TGF-β signaling–deficient hematopoietic stem cells have normal self-renewal and regenerative ability in vivo despite increased proliferative capacity in vitro

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Abstract
Studies in vitro implicate transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) as a key regulator of hematopoiesis with potent inhibitory effects on progenitor and stem cell proliferation. In vivo studies have been hampered by early lethality of knock-out mice for TGF-β isoforms and the receptors. To directly assess the role of TGF-β signaling for hematopoiesis and hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) function in vivo, we generated a conditional knock-out model in which a disruption of the TGF-β type I receptor (TβRI) gene was induced in adult mice. HSCs from induced mice showed increased proliferation recruitment when cultured as single cells under low stimulatory conditions in vitro, consistent with an inhibitory role of TGF-β in HSC proliferation. However, induced TβRI null mice show normal in vivo hematopoiesis with normal numbers and differentiation ability of hematopoietic progenitor cells. Furthermore HSCs from TβRI null mice exhibit a normal cell cycle distribution and do not differ in their ability long term to repopulate primary and secondary recipient mice following bone marrow transplantation. These findings challenge the classical view that TGF-β is an essential negative regulator of hematopoietic stem cells under physiologic conditions in vivo.