In today’s research materials, scientists present data on clonal hematopoiesis with age in humans. Hematopoiesis is the creation of blood and immune cells, taking place in the bone marrow. Clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) is the name given to one of the age-related changes taking place in the populations of stem cells and progenitor cells that carry out hematopoiesis. Stochastic mutations occur constantly in the body. In the dynamic hematopoietic cell populations of the bone marrow, some of these mutations allow the mutated cells to outcompete their undamaged peers to make up a much larger fraction of the population than would otherwise be the case. Thus, with advancing age, an increasing …
Decreasing Clonal Diversity with Age in Human Hematopoiesis
In today’s research materials, scientists present data on clonal hematopoiesis with age in humans. Hematopoiesis is the creation of blood and immune cells, taking place in the bone marrow. Clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) is the name given to one of the age-related changes taking place in the populations of stem cells and progenitor cells that carry out hematopoiesis. Stochastic mutations occur constantly in the body. In the dynamic hematopoietic cell populations of the bone marrow, some of these mutations allow the mutated cells to outcompete their undamaged peers to make up a much larger fraction of the population than would otherwise be the case. Thus, with advancing age, an increasing …