A limited role for p16Ink4a and p19Arf in the loss of hematopoietic stem cells during proliferative stress

It has long been known that prolonged culture or serial transplantation leads to the loss of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs); however, the mechanisms for this loss are not well understood. We hypothesized that expression of p16(Ink4a) or p19(Arf) or both may play a role in the loss of HSCs during conditions of enhanced proliferation, either in vitro or in vivo. Arf was not expressed in freshly isolated HSCs from adult mice but was induced in phenotypically primitive cells after 10 to 12 days in culture. When cultured bone marrow cells from either Arf(-/-) or Ink4a-Arf(-/-) mice were compared to wild-type cells in a competitive repopulation assay, no significant differences in HSC activity were seen. We then evaluated the role of p19(Arf) and p16(Ink4a) in the loss of HSCs during serial transplantation. Bone marrow cells from Ink4a-Arf(-/-), but not Arf(-/-), mice had a modestly extended life span and, on average, supported reconstitution of one additional recipient compared to wild-type cells. Mice given transplants of Ink4a-Arf(-/-) cells eventually did die of hematopoletic failure in the next round of transplantation. We conclude that mechanisms independent of the lnk4a-Arf gene locus play a dominant role in HSC loss during conditions of proliferative stress.