Overview
- An international team mapped human bone marrow using single-cell RNA sequencing, spatial biopsy imaging, proteomics, and co-culture models from the BoHemE cohort across healthy donors, individuals with CHIP, and patients with MDS.
- Researchers identified inflammatory mesenchymal stromal cells that supplant normal supportive stromal cells and secrete interferon-induced signals that recruit interferon‑responsive T cells, forming a self-sustaining inflammatory loop that impairs blood formation and alters vasculature.
- With the SpliceUp computational tool, the study distinguished mutated from non‑mutated cells in single‑cell data and found no evidence that MDS mutant hematopoietic cells directly trigger the inflammatory microenvironment.
- The authors propose testing anti‑inflammatory or interferon‑modulating agents and niche‑directed therapies to preserve marrow function in CHIP and to hinder progression to MDS or AML, with molecular signatures flagged as candidate biomarkers.
- The work is cross‑sectional and published alongside a complementary MDS microenvironment study, and the team calls for longitudinal studies to test causality, assess niche memory, and validate interventions.