This project focuses on discovering how the AHR regulates the most primordial cells of the immune system: hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. Several lines of evidence indicate that the AHR is a key factor controlling several aspects of hematopoiesis, including stem and progenitor cell dormancy and differentiation, yet little is known about how this occurs. Using a combination of multi-parametric flow cytometry, transcriptomics, as well as genetic and pharmacological tools, we are defining how AHR regulates hematopoiesis. Our discoveries will contribute to the fundamental understanding of AHR as a regulator of stem and progenitor cells, and also provide exciting new approaches to prevent and treat diseases, as we are delineating how AHR regulates hematopoiesis in the absence of exogenous threats, and also in the context of emergency hematopoiesis during infection.
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