Project 456344

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSC), or blood forming stem cells, are found in the adult bone marrow, where they are essential for the continuous production of circulating blood cells, including the cells of the immune system. Their function is normally tightly regulated, and the different types of blood cells are being produced in balanced quantities. In a situation of stress, such as acute infection, HSCs become activated and they will multiply and change the proportion of the different blood cells being produced. The goal of this infection-induced change is to better respond to the infection and to eliminate the infectious agent. However, our recent work suggests that the infectious agents may actually use the HSCs to escape the immune response by inducing the HSCs to produce one type of blood cell over another. We believe these mechanisms are crucial for the establishment of persistent infections. We now aim at understanding how this happens and how it could be prevented to help clear chronic infections.