ELUCIDATE POTENTIAL ROLE OF PDPN IN MOBILIZATION OF HEMATOPOIETIC STEM CELLS (HSCS) IN A NICHE FACTOR, PDPN-DEFICIENT MICE AND POSSIBLE DIFFERENCES IN NICHE FACTORS

Abstract

Homeostasis of the hematopoietic system relies on the maintenance of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). HSCs reside in a specialized environment termed as its niche, which regulates the fate of HSCs. Podoplanin (Pdpn) is a membrane protein that is expressed in lymphatic endothelial cells. These are cellular components of HSCs which are associated with stem cell niche. This project is to elucidate the function of Pdpn in bone marrow (BM) and spleen hematopoiesis both at steady state and stressful conditions. This thesis aims to elucidate the potential role of Pdpn in the mobilization of HSCs in Pdpn-deficient mice since its interaction with niche factors has not been studied previously. These cumulative results demonstrates that under physiological conditions, Pdpn has a variety of roles in hematopoiesis. The deletion of Pdpn in hematopoietic organs results in variation of the subset of cell populations present, which indicates that Pdpn is involved in regulating stem cell niche and hematopoietic cell fate during steady state.