The Immune-Modulatory Function of Megakaryocytes in the Hematopoietic Niche of Myeloproliferative Neoplasms

Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) are clonal stem cell disorders characterized by dysregulated megakaryopoiesis and neoplastic hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) expansion. Using a murine model with MK-specific JAK2V617F expression, we establish an MPN aging model where mutant MKs drive HSC expansion and a progressive decline in wild-type HSC function. Compared to wild-type MKs, JAK2V617F MKs exhibit heightened inflammation and innate immune activation with aging, including increased antigen presentation, elevated pro-inflammatory cytokines, skewed T cell populations, and impaired T cell functions in the marrow niche. Enhanced MK immunomodulatory function is linked to mutant cell expansion and MPN progression in a chimeric murine model with co-existing wild-type and JAK2V617F mutant HSCs. LINE-1 (long-interspersed element-1), a retrotransposon linked to innate immune activation and aging, is upregulated in mutant MKs during aging in murine models. We validated that LINE-1–encoded protein ORF1p is expressed in marrow MKs in 12 of 13 MPN patients but absent in control samples from patients undergoing orthopedic surgery (n=5). These findings suggest that MKs reprogram the marrow immune microenvironment, impairing normal HSC function while promoting neoplastic expansion in MPNs. LINE-1 activation in mutant MKs may be a key driver of immune dysregulation in MPNs.