Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 Jan;28(1):57-63.
doi: 10.1097/MOH.0000000000000622.

Human hematopoiesis: aging and leukemogenic risk

Emmalee R Adelman  1   2 , Maria E Figueroa  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Human hematopoiesis: aging and leukemogenic risk

Emmalee R Adelman et al. Curr Opin Hematol. 2021 Jan.

Abstract

Purpose of review: Our understanding of the effects of aging on human hematopoiesis has advanced significantly in recent years, yet the full ramifications of these findings are not fully understood. This review summarizes these findings and discusses their implication as they relate to malignant hematopoiesis.

Recent findings: With human aging there is an impaired immune response, loss of hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) function, increase in clonal hematopoiesis, and higher frequency of myeloid malignancies. Although murine models have implicated abnormalities in DNA damage repair, autophagy, metabolism, and epigenetics, studies in primary human specimens are more limited. The development of age-related clonal hematopoiesis and the risk associated with this is one of the major findings in the field of recent years. This is accompanied by changes in bone marrow stem and progenitor composition, changes in the epigenetic program of stem cells and an inflammatory milieu in the bone marrow. The precise consequences of these changes for the development of age-related malignancies are still unclear.

Summary: Advances in the field have begun to reveal the mechanisms driving human HSC loss of function with age. It will be critical to delineate between normal and malignant aging in order to better prevent age-associated myeloid malignancies.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of interest:

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report.

References

    1. Institute NC. SEER Cancer Stat Facts: Acute Myeloid Leukemia <http://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/amyl.html>.
    1. Yoshikawa TT, Schmader K. Herpes Zoster in Older Adults. Clinical Infectious Diseases 2001;32(10):1481–6 doi 10.1086/320169. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Louria DB, Sen P, Sherer CB, Farrer WE. Infections in older patients: a systematic clinical approach. Geriatrics 1993;48(1):28–34. - PubMed
    1. Armstrong GL, Conn LA, Pinner RW. Trends in infectious disease mortality in the united states during the 20th century. Jama 1999;281(1):61–6 doi 10.1001/jama.281.1.61. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Parsons HK, Dockrell DH. The burden of invasive pneumococcal disease and the potential for reduction by immunisation. International journal of antimicrobial agents 2002;19(2):85–93. - PubMed

Publication types