Rab5c-mediated endocytic trafficking regulates hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell development via Notch and AKT signaling

It is well known that various developmental signals play diverse roles in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell (HSPC) production; however, how these signaling pathways are orchestrated remains incompletely understood. Here, we report that Rab5c is essential for HSPC specification by endocytic trafficking of Notch and AKT signaling in zebrafish embryos. Rab5c deficiency leads to defects in HSPC production. Mechanistically, Rab5c regulates hemogenic endothelium (HE) specification by endocytic trafficking of Notch ligands and receptor. We further show that the interaction between Rab5c and Appl1 in the endosome is required for the survival of HE in the ventral wall of the dorsal aorta through AKT signaling. Interestingly, Rab5c overactivation can also lead to defects in HSPC production, which is attributed to excessive endolysosomal trafficking inducing Notch signaling defect. Taken together, our findings establish a previously unrecognized role of Rab5c-mediated endocytic trafficking in HSPC development and provide new insights into how spatiotemporal signals are orchestrated to accurately execute cell fate transition.
Cell-autonomous Notch signaling regulated by the membrane trafficking protein Rab5c plays an instructive role in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell specification, while the AKT signaling seems to provide a permissive signal to maintain hemogenic endothelium survival.