Macrophages are Key Regulators of Hematopoiesis in Infection and Disease"

April 18, 2018 @ 12:00 pm to 01:00 pm

Katherine MacNamara, Albany Medical College

W201 Millennium Science Complex
University Park

Event Website

The focus of our lab is on understanding how the hematopoietic system responds to, and recovers from, hematologic stress caused by infection or inflammation. The hematopoietic system is maintained by the bone marrow, which produces billions of cells each day. Ultimately, it is the bone marrow-resident hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) that supports hematopoiesis throughout life, as it is able to self-renew, generating more stem cells, and produce more differentiated multipotent progenitors (MPPs). Under normal conditions, HSCs are maintained in a dormant state, and their daughter cells, the MPPs, are responsible for the daily production of lineage-specific cells (such as neutrophils and red blood cells). While a great deal is known about the mechanisms governing the generation of hematopoietic cells under homeostatic conditions, how these processes are altered by infection and inflammation are unclear. The process of demand-adapted hematopoiesis is likely important for generating cells necessary for combating infection, but may also contribute to pathogenesis by producing cells that augment inflammation. Furthermore, it is unclear how acute and chronic inflammation impacts the function of HSC and progenitors (HSPCs) long term.

Contact

Margaret Weber
maw71@psu.edu
814-865-7697