Cited by 161Acute Myeloid Leukemia ResearchHematopoietic Stem Cell TransplantationBlood disorders and treatments

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 60 of the 60 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; 61 of the 73 sources its claims cite were checked for support.

Aging drives Tet2 +/− clonal hematopoiesis via IL-1 signaling

Open access

Abstract

Clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP), also referred to as aging-related clonal hematopoiesis, is defined as an asymptomatic clonal expansion of mutant mature hematopoietic cells in ≥4% of blood leukocytes. CHIP associates with advanced age and increased risk for hematological malignancy, cardiovascular disease, and all-cause mortality. Loss-of-function somatic mutations in TET2 are frequent drivers of CHIP. However, the contribution of aging-associated cooperating cell-extrinsic drivers, like inflammation, remains underexplored. Using bone marrow (BM) transplantation and newly developed genetic mosaicism (HSC-SCL-Cre-ERT; Tet2+/flox; R26+/tm6[CAG-ZsGreen1]Hze) mouse models of Tet2+/−driven CHIP, we observed an association between increased Tet2+/− clonal expansion and higher BM levels of the inflammatory cytokine interleukin-1 (IL-1) upon aging. Administration of IL-1 to mice carrying CHIP led to an IL-1 receptor 1 (IL-1R1)–dependent expansion of Tet2+/− hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) and mature blood cells. This expansion was caused by increased Tet2+/− HSPC cell cycle progression, increased multilineage differentiation, and higher repopulation capacity compared with their wild-type counterparts. In agreement, IL-1α–treated Tet2+/− hematopoietic stem cells showed increased DNA replication and repair transcriptomic signatures and reduced susceptibility to IL-1α–mediated downregulation of self-renewal genes. More important, genetic deletion of IL-1R1 in Tet2+/− HPSCs or pharmacologic inhibition of IL-1 signaling impaired Tet2+/− clonal expansion, establishing the IL-1 pathway as a relevant and therapeutically targetable driver of Tet2+/− CHIP progression during aging.

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

Aging promotes Tet2+/− clonal hematopoiesis in mice through increased bone marrow IL-1, which acts directly on Tet2+/− HSPCs via IL-1R1 to enhance proliferation, multilineage differentiation, and clonal dominance. Genetic or pharmacologic blockade of IL-1–IL-1R1 signaling reduces Tet2+/− clonal expansion during aging.

Key findings

  • In an inducible, transplantation-independent Tet2+/− mosaicism model, Tet2+/− clones expanded significantly more than WT clones during aging; the increase in monthly expansion rates became significant from 7 months onward, particularly at 7-8, 9-10, and 11-12 months, and occurred across T cells, B cells, myeloid cells, erythrocytes, and multiple HSPC populations.
  • Aged Tet2+/− BM showed increased IL-1α/β and TNF-α gene expression, increased IL-1α protein, and a positive correlation between BM Tet2+/− clonal size and IL-1α concentration; Tet2+/− myeloid cells were the main IL-1α producers, especially after LPS exposure.
  • IL-1α exposure for 14 days in young mice significantly increased the Tet2+/− clonal fraction in PB and HSPCs, whereas Tet2+/−; Il1r1−/− cells showed no expansion; IL-1β had a similar but lower-magnitude effect. Genetic IL-1R1 ablation completely abrogated Tet2+/− expansion in transplantation chimeras, and anakinra reduced PB Tet2+/− clonal expansion but did not fully prevent HSPC clonal expansion.
  • RNA-seq of HSCs after IL-1α showed 318 DEGs unique to Tet2+/− HSCs, 221 unique to WT HSCs, and 515 shared; Tet2+/− HSCs were enriched for DNA replication, cell cycle progression, and DNA repair pathways, while 9 self-renewal genes (e.g., Mecom, Hmox1, Plag1) were downregulated exclusively in IL-1α–treated WT HSCs.

Methods

  • Used triple-transgenic mice (HSC-SCL-Cre-ERT; Tet2+/flox; R26+/tm6(CAG-ZsGreen1)Hze) and WT controls, with tamoxifen titration to generate about 10% or ≈2% ZsG+ clonal fractions; mice were aged up to 12 or 28 months, exposed to IL-1α/IL-1β, or treated with anakinra (37 μg/mouse every other day from 11 to 13 months).
  • Also used BM transplantation chimeras, including 90:10 and 50:50 competition settings, with WT, Tet2+/−, Il1r1−/−, and Tet2+/−; Il1r1−/− donor cells.
  • Main assays included flow cytometry for PB/BM lineages and HSPCs, cell cycle analysis, methylcellulose colony-forming/replating assays, bulk RNA-seq of HSCs, and statistics by Student t-test or 2-way ANOVA with Tukey correction in Prism v8.

Limitations

  • Stated: the exact molecular mechanisms by which Tet2+/− HSCs show differential differentiating and self-renewing proliferative responses to IL-1 remain to be elucidated; whether IL-1 dependency is exclusive to TET2-mutant AML remains to be determined; and whether additional age-associated mutations such as FLT3 synergize with Tet2 loss and IL-1R1 remains to be determined.
  • Stated: the anakinra regimen used did not fully prevent Tet2+/− HSPC clonal expansion, suggesting the dose and timing were insufficient to revert established clonal dominance; reversion may require combination therapy.
  • Evident from the text: the causal experiments are in murine models, with human relevance inferred from cited CHIP and canakinumab data rather than directly tested here; the inducible model also showed ZsG leakiness up to 2.5% at 10 months, and transplantation models had an early post-irradiation expansion phase not seen in the inducible model.

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Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1182/blood.2022016835

Cites

60 of 60 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Verification

Claims the paper makes

61 of 73 cited sources checked · 14 supported · 2 flagged · accuracy not yet measured

Show all 71 claims

  • Probably not a substantial claim. 18
  • It may state two separate claims as one. 40
56 of 56
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The HSC-SCL-Cre-ERT; Tet2+/flox; R26+/tm6(CAG-ZsGreen1)Hze model's ZsG+ cells faithfully represent Tet2+/− HSPC-derived hematopoiesis throughout aging.

    “Altogether, these data validate the generation of an irradiation/transplantation-independent, TAM-dose–dependent inducible, and traceable genetic chimerism model to study Tet2+/− clonal hematopoiesis.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    BM IL-1 protein levels measured in lysates reflect bioactive IL-1 signaling in the BM niche.

    “In agreement with gene expression data, we detected increased IL-1α protein levels in Tet2+/− BM (Figure 2H)”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Findings in the mouse Tet2+/− clonal hematopoiesis model are relevant to human CHIP.

    “Understanding the drivers of clonal expansion in CHIP-carrying individuals during aging is key to devise potential therapeutic interventions for this population.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The 10% TAM-induced clonal hematopoietic fraction mimics the clonal fractions and behavior of human CHIP.

    “triple-transgenic mice carrying wild-type (WT group) or a heterozygous floxed Tet2 gene (Tet2+/− group) were induced with a single TAM injection to generate an about 10% clonal hematopoietic fraction and aged for 12 months (Figure 2A).”
4 of 4

Claims other papers make about this one

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Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.

  • Anakinra timing refers to tamoxifen in noninjected mice

    Minor

    The methods place the start of anakinra treatment 11 months after tamoxifen injection, but the described anakinra experiment uses mice that were not injected with tamoxifen.

1 of 1

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Metadata

Authors
Caiado, F., Kovtonyuk, L. V., Gonullu, N. G., Fullin, J., Boettcher, S., & Manz, M. G.
Affiliations
University of Zurich (CH)
Venue
Blood
Published
2023-02-23
Volume
141
Issue
8
Pages
886-903
ISSN
  • 0006-4971 (ISSN-L)
  • 1528-0020
OpenAlex
W4309088916
Cited by
161
References
60
Citations by year
2026: 47 · 2025: 47 · 2024: 44 · 2023: 23
FWCI
17.75
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Blood (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich) (acceptedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed Central (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich)
Funders
  • National Science Foundation
  • Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung (310030_184747/1, 310030)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Hematology › Acute Myeloid Leukemia Research
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Hematology › Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Hematology › Blood disorders and treatments
Keywords
clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential, TET2, aging, IL-1 signaling, IL-1 receptor 1, hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells, clonal expansion, inflammation, DNA replication and repair, self-renewal, multilineage differentiation, hematological malignancy risk, bone marrow transplantation, genetic mosaicism
MeSH terms
Clonal Hematopoiesis, Aging, Animals, Cardiovascular Diseases, DNA-Binding Proteins, Hematopoiesis, Interleukin-1, Mutation, Dioxygenases, Mice

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