Trained and ready - the case for an inflammatory memory for hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells in the AML niche

Lifelong hematopoiesis is sustained by crosstalk between hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) and specialized bone marrow niches. Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) upends that balance, as leukemic blasts secrete factors that remodel the bone marrow into a self-reinforcing leukemic niche. The inflammatory secretome behind this compartmental adaptation accounts for a progressive decline in hematopoietic function that leads to diagnosis and persists through early treatment. Not surprisingly, the mediators of an acute inflammatory injury and HSPC suppression have attracted much attention in an effort to alleviate morbidity and improve outcomes. HSPCs typically recover during disease remission and re-expand in the bone marrow (BM), but little is known about potentially lasting consequences for stem cells and progenitors. We recently showed that AML-experienced HSPCs actively participate in the inflammatory process during leukemic progression. HSPCs are constituent components of the innate immune system, and elegant studies of infection and experimental inflammation over the past decade have described the generation of an adoptively transferable, innate immune memory. Building on this paradigm, we discuss the potential translational relevance of a durable legacy in AML-experienced HSPC.