Quiescent hematopoietic stem cells are activated by IFNγ in response to chronic infection

Lymphocytes and neutrophils are rapidly depleted by systemic infection1. Progenitor cells of the hematopoietic system, such as common myeloid progenitors (CMPs) and common lymphoid progenitors (CLPs), increase the production of immune cells to restore and maintain homeostasis during chronic infection, but the contribution of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) to this process is largely unknown2. Using an in vivo mouse model of Mycobacterium avium infection, we show that an increased proportion of long-term repopulating HSCs (LT-HSCs) proliferate during M. avium infection, and that this response requires interferon-gamma (IFNγ) but not interferon-alpha (IFNα) signaling. Thus, the hematopoietic response to chronic bacterial infection involves the activation not only of intermediate blood progenitors but of LT-HSCs as well. IFNγ is sufficient to promote LT-HSC proliferation in vivo; furthermore, HSCs from mice deficient in IFNγ have a lower proliferative rate, indicating that baseline IFNγ tone regulates HSC activity. These findings are the first to implicate IFNγ both as a regulator of HSCs during homeostasis and under conditions of infectious stress. Our studies contribute to a deeper understanding of hematologic responses in patients with chronic infections such as HIV/AIDS or tuberculosis3-5.