Cell-specific proteome analyses of human bone marrow reveal molecular features of age-dependent functional decline [cell populations]

Diminishing potential to replace damaged tissues is a hallmark for ageing of somatic stem cells, but the mechanisms leading to ageing remain elusive. We present a proteome-wide atlas of age-associated alterations in human haematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HPCs) along with five other cell types that constitute the bone marrow niche. For each, the abundance of a large fraction of the ~12,000 proteins identified was assessed in a cohort of healthy human subjects from different age. As the HPCs became older, pathways in central carbon metabolism exhibited features reminiscent of the Warburg effect where glycolytic intermediates are rerouted towards anabolism. Simultaneously, altered abundance of early regulators of HPC differentiation revealed a reduced functionality and a bias towards myeloid differentiation at the expense of lymphoid development. Ageing caused significant alterations in the bone marrow niche too, such as functionality of the pathways involved in HPC homing and lineage differentiation. The data represents a valuable resource for further in-depth mechanistic analyses, and for validation of knowledge gained from animal models.