TRAF6 Distinctly Regulates Hematopoietic Stem and Progenitors at Different Periods of Development in Mice

Tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated factor 6 (TRAF6) is identified as a signaling adaptor protein that regulates bone metabolism, immunity, and the development of several tissues. Therefore, its functions are closely associated with multiple diseases. TRAF6 is also involved in the regulation of hematopoiesis under steady-state conditions, but the role of TRAF6 in modulating hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) during the developmental stages remains unknown. Here, we report that the deletion of TRAF6 in hematopoietic lineage cells resulted in the upregulation of HSPCs in the fetal liver at the prenatal period. However, in the early postnatal period, deletion of TRAF6 drastically diminished HSPCs in the bone marrow (BM), with severe defects in BM development and extramedullary hematopoiesis in the spleen being identified. In the analysis of adult HSPCs in a BM reconstitution setting, TRAF6 played no significant role in HSPC homeostasis, albeit it affected the development of T cells. Taken together, our results suggest that the role of TRAF6 in regulating HSPCs is altered in a spatial and temporal manner during the developmental course of mice.