Harnessing matrix stiffness to engineer a bone marrow niche for hematopoietic stem cell rejuvenation

Newswise — Yue and colleagues demonstrate that matrix stiffness negatively regulates the HSC niche factor expression by BMSCs. They successfully engineer a soft bone marrow niche that not only promotes HSC maintenance and lymphopoiesis but also rejuvenates middle-aged/old HSCs and show that bone marrow stiffening is correlated with compromised HSC niche during aging.