Overexpression of murine TSLP impairs lymphopoiesis and myelopoiesis

The role of thymic stromal cell-derived lymphopoietin (TSLP) in regulating hematopoiesis is poorly characterized, so we investigated its regulatory effects in vivo using TSLP transgenic mice. Overexpression of TSLP disrupted hematopoietic homeostasis by causing imbalances in lymphopoiesis and myelopoiesis. Mice harboring a TSLP transgene had 5- to 700-fold fewer B and T precursors and no detectable pre-B lymphocyte colony-forming activity in the marrow or spleen. Conversely, TSLP transgenic mice possessed 15 to 20 times more spienic myeloid precursors than their littermates, and progenitor activity of the granulocyte-erythrocyte-macrophage-megakaryocyte colony-forming units was significantly elevated. The arrest in lymphopoiesis and the expansion of myeloid progenitor cells in TSLP transgenic mice suggest that TSLP has negative and positive regulatory effects on lymphoid and myeloid development, respectively.