ABSTRACT
Background And Aims: S100A8 and S100A9 alarmins and their heterodimer calprotectin are diversely involved in myeloid neoplasm pathophysiology as well as infectious and inflammatory diseases. In the context of COVID-19, circulating calprotectin was identified as a powerful biomarker of disease severity. Calprotectin impact on CD34+ hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells remains poorly understood. Method(s): Calprotectin effects on healthy donor and chronic myeloid neoplasm-derived CD34-positive hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells were tested in liquid culture for up to 7 days. The pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-6 was used as a control. Cytokine effects alone or in combination were explored by the use of bulk and single cell RNA sequencing, Assay for Transposase-Accessible Chromatin with high-throughput sequencing, cytokine secretion analyses and semi-solid cultures. Result(s): CD34+ cells exposed to IL-6 generate monocytic cells that overproduce calprotectin. Calprotectin inhibits erythroid differentiation of healthy CD34+ cells, possibly through CD36 receptor. Chronic myeloid neoplasm CD34+ cells over-react to calprotectin, with large transcriptomic rewiring of erythro-megakarocytic and granulo-monocytic populations. Calprotectin-induced inhibition of erythroid progenitor proliferation correlates with increased synthesis of ribosomal subunits and p53 pathway activation, while the cytokine impact on granulo-monocytic cells indicates an autocrine or paracrine amplification loop. Conclusion(s): Calprotectin secreted by monocytes generated by CD34+ cells upon IL-6 stimulation may be a pathophysiological component of inflammatory anemia, a role that is amplified in the context of myeloid neoplasms in which calprotectin effects extend to the granulo-monocytic lineage.Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.