A new double reporter strategy reveals a subset of non-migratory hematopoietic stem cells localized in a dynamic bone marrow niche

Interactions of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) with the bone marrow microenvironment are critical to regulate stem cell function in homeostasis, emergency hematopoiesis and ageing. The dynamic behavior of endogenous HSCs in their niches has been challenging to study due to the complexity of markers required to define pure HSCs. Multiple recently developed reporter strategies advanced our capacity to identify HSCs in situ. Yet, they provide different levels of HSC enrichment and are frequently not stable in situations of perturbed hematopoiesis, leading to contradictory observations of HSC migratory behavior. Here we employed a new double reporter strategy by combining the Hoxb5-mKO2 and Vwf-GFP reporters, that are stably expressed in homeostasis, stress and ageing. Hoxb5⁺Vwf⁺ cells represent a subset of highly pure and potent long-term HSCs with a platelet-biased pattern of differentiation, that are included in the populations identified by other reporter strategies. Intravital microscopy revealed Hoxb5⁺Vwf⁺ cells to be non-migratory in homeostasis, following platelet depletion when these cells are actively proliferating, and during ageing. This non-migratory behavior of HSCs in homeostasis and stress indicates that their activation does not inherently depend on relocation to alternative niches eliciting proliferation, as previously proposed. We found Hoxb5⁺Vwf⁺ HSCs in direct contact with vasculature and LepR⁺ perivascular cells but not preferentially closer to megakaryocytes. Nevertheless, increased megakaryopoiesis following platelet depletion brings megakaryocytes into close proximity of Hoxb5⁺Vwf⁺ HSCs, revealing previously unrecognized niche dynamics in HSC regulation during regeneration.