Study Illuminates Association Between Immune Cell Production and Gene Expression

A recent study published in Science Advances pioneered new techniques to show how gene expression activity has the potential to boost immune cell production to combat diseases, particularly in aging or ill individuals. Led by a team from USC, the study specifically looked at the mechanisms governing the productivity of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), which generate blood and immune cells.

Senior author Rong Lu and the team aimed to understand why certain HSCs produce more immune cells than others. Using innovative techniques, they tracked immune cell production in lab mice by labeling individual stem cells with genetic "barcodes" and correlating this data with gene expression activity. Through this approach, they identified nearly 40 genes linked to immune cell production, some associated with diseases like myelodysplastic syndrome.

Their findings revealed distinct associations between gene activity and the quantity and diversity of immune cells produced. Certain genes were consistently linked to specific immune cell types, while others showed discrete associations within specific ranges of immune cell output levels. Most genes exhibited either unimodal or multimodal associations, indicating activity correlated with immune cell production at specific levels.

“In this study, we show that most genes associated with immune cell production are associated only at specific levels of immune cell production,” said first author Du Jiang. “Our findings can inform strategies to optimize bone marrow transplantation—for example, by selecting donor bone marrow cells with gene activity associated with high and balanced levels of immune cell production.”