Welcome to the Maryanovich Lab!
Hematopoietic niches at the crossroads of aging and hematologic malignancies
Our goal is to understand the cellular and molecular regulators of stem cell niches in the hematopoietic system. We focus on primary lymphoid organs, the bone marrow, which provides a supportive niche for hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), and the thymus, which is essential for the lifelong production of T cells.
HSCs are long-lived stem cells responsible for generating billions of red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. These critically important cells reside within the bone marrow in a microenvironment ("niche") that supports their survival, proliferation, and differentiation. Improper control of HSC maintenance results in a wide range of clinical conditions, including anemia, thrombocytopenia, immune dysfunction, and hematological malignancies. A fundamental aspect of thymopoiesis is the migration of early T cell progenitors (ETPs) from the bone marrow to the thymus and settling in specialized niches that coordinate T cell lineage commitment, TCR gene rearrangement, positive and negative selection, yielding mature T cell subsets. Disruption in the thymic niche and dysregulation of thymopoiesis is a common feature of aging and leads to immune system dysfunction.
Lab projects cover a wide scope of hematopoiesis biology, from neural and circadian regulation of hematopoiesis and thymopoiesis to redox signaling and mitochondrial dynamics in niche cells. Teasing apart the interactions between stem and progenitor cells and their niche is the major focus of our lab. We hope that our novel discoveries will provide a roadmap for the development of treatment strategies to help millions of individuals and their families suffering from hematological diseases and immune disorders.