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Updated: Jul 8, 2026

Bioengineering of Humanized Bone Marrow Microenvironments in Mouse and Their Visualization by Live Imaging
Published on: August 1, 2017
Endosteal integrin-α8⁺ mesenchymal stem cells maintain haematopoietic stem cell function via extracellular
Ryosuke Yuta1, Hisayuki Yao2, Kentaro Hosokawa1
1Department of Stem Cell Biology and Medicine, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
None:
The stem cell niche is a specialised microenvironment essential for maintaining haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). Here we identify a distinct subset of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) expressing integrin α8 (Itga8⁺ MSCs) within the bone marrow (BM) endosteum. These cells exhibit distinct MSC properties and higher haematopoietic supportive activity than other MSC subsets. Depletion of Itga8⁺ MSCs decreased HSC numbers, reduced quiescence of endosteal HSCs and diminished BM repopulating capacity. Itga8⁺ MSCs support haematopoiesis through cell adhesion-related mechanisms. Single-cell RNA sequencing further identified Itga8⁺ MSCs as a distinct subpopulation within bone-lining cells. Moreover, we identified Mfap4 as a candidate factor expressed in Itga8⁺ MSCs, and Mfap4 supported the BM reconstitution capacity of HSCs. These results suggest that Itga8⁺ MSCs represent a distinct niche cell population for HSC maintenance. This work provides new insights into HSC regulation and strategies to optimise in vitro HSC maintenance and enhance in vivo engraftment.
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