Loss of Phf6 prevents aging associated transcriptomic profile changes in LT-HSCs

Loss of Phf6 prevents the functional decline and immunophenotypic changes associated with age-related, long-term repopulating hematopoietic stem cell (LT-HSC) exhaustion. To identify the underlying molecular mechanisms that account for these differences, we performed RNA-seq profiling of LT-HSCs isolated from the bone marrow of Phf6 wild-type and knock-out, young (16-week-old) and aged (24-month-old) C57BL/6 mice. Our analysis revealed that LT-HSCs isolated from 24-month-old, Phf6 knockout mice retained the molecular signatures associated with young LT-HSCs whereas LT-HSCs isolated from aged, Phf6 wild-type mice acquired signatures consistent with HSC exhaustion. Mechanistically, these data revealed important roles for key metabolic pathways including glutathione metabolism and sterol biosynthesis, as well as cell-cell interaction and signaling pathways such as the interferon and TGF-beta responses. Overall design: RNA-seq of LT-HSCs isolated from young and old, Phf6 wild-type and knock-out mice.