Pre-cancerous blood cells may fuel disease risk by prematurely aging the bone marrow

A new study reveals that precancerous blood cells may contribute to disease risk by prematurely aging the bone marrow. Researchers at The Jackson Laboratory found that these abnormal blood cells actively reshape their surroundings, accelerating the aging process of bone marrow cells and creating conditions that favor their own growth.

This discovery challenges previous assumptions about aging and the expansion of precancerous cells, suggesting that targeting the bone marrow environment could help prevent blood cancers before they arise. The study, conducted using mouse models and human samples, appears in Nature Cell Biology. Lead author Jennifer Trowbridge notes that these aging cells accumulate faster than expected for a person's age, leading to a higher prevalence of senescent cells in the bone marrow environment.

Clonal hematopoiesis, an age-related condition where mutations allow certain blood-forming stem cells to produce a larger share of blood cells, affects about 1 in 5 people over 70. While not cancer itself, some mutant clones can progress to blood cancers, increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease and stroke. The study suggests that the bone marrow actively contributes to the expansion and progression of these precancerous cells, rather than passively reacting to them.

By disrupting the interaction between mutated blood cells and the aged bone marrow environment, it may be possible to slow or prevent the progression of clonal hematopoiesis toward blood cancer, potentially impacting other age-related diseases and cancers.