Abstract
Serum levels of inflammatory cytokines are currently investigated as prognosis markers in myelofibrosis, the most severe Philadelphia-negative myeloproliferative neoplasm. We tested this hypothesis in the Gata1low model of myelofibrosis. Gata1low mice, and age-matched wild-type littermates, were analyzed before and after disease onset. We assessed cytokine serum levels by Luminex-bead-assay and ELISA, frequency and cytokine content of stromal cells by flow cytometry, and immunohistochemistry and bone marrow (BM) localization of GFP-tagged hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) by confocal microscopy. Differences in serum levels of 32 inflammatory-cytokines between prefibrotic and fibrotic Gata1low mice and their wild-type littermates were modest. However, BM from fibrotic Gata1low mice contained higher levels of lipocalin-2, CXCL1, and TGF-β1 than wild-type BM. Although frequencies of endothelial cells, mesenchymal cells, osteoblasts, and megakaryocytes were higher than normal in Gata1low BM, the cells which expressed these cytokines the most were malignant megakaryocytes. This increased bioavailability of proinflammatory cytokines was associated with altered HSC localization: Gata1low HSC were localized in the femur diaphysis in areas surrounded by microvessels, neo-bones, and megakaryocytes, while wild-type HSC were localized in the femur epiphysis around adipocytes. In conclusion, bioavailability of inflammatory cytokines in BM, rather than blood levels, possibly by reshaping the HSC niche, correlates with myelofibrosis in Gata1low mice.