Aging mechanisms and rejuvenation strategies for hematopoietic stem cells
Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) transition through different functional states throughout life from emergence and expansion in the fetus, homeostasis maintenance in adulthood, and progressive functional decline with age. Aged HSCs are characterized by increased phenotypic number, decreased self-renewal and long-term reconstitution capacity, myeloid-biased differentiation, and clonal hematopoiesis. In this review, we summarize the life cycle of HSCs, integrate recent advances in understanding the cell-intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms that drive HSC aging, and highlight innovative rejuvenation strategies that could be harnessed to delay HSC and systemic aging.
Authors
- Dandan Cao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9969-3174)
- Yanhua Xu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9891-7199)
- Wanyu Shi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2572-7121)
- Rui Yue
- Yan Zhang
- De-an Guo
Institutions
- Tongji University (CN)
- Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine (CN)
- Changchun University of Chinese Medicine (CN)
- Shanghai East Hospital (CN)
- Shanghai Cell Therapy Research Institute (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Genome biology
- Published
- 2026-05-29
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s13059-026-04119-6
- Primary Topic
- Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality
- National Key Research and Development Program of China
- Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities