Nicotinamide Riboside Enhances Blood Stem Cell Recovery and Regeneration: Preclinical Findings

Synopsis

Recent studies show that increased mitochondrial activity and impaired stress response harm hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), reducing their ability to regenerate. This study found that NR lowers mitochondrial activity in HSCs by promoting mitochondrial clearance (mitophagy), which encourages more asymmetric HSC divisions—key for maintaining the stem cell pool. NR supplementation enlarged the progenitor cell pool without exhausting HSCs, improved survival by 80%, and sped up blood recovery after lethal radiation and transplantation in mice. In immune-deficient mice, NR also boosted human white blood cell production from progenitors. This work reveals for the first time that boosting NAD+ with NR positively affects primitive blood stem cells by linking mitochondrial stress, mitophagy, and stem cell fate, highlighting NR’s potential to aid recovery after blood-related therapies.

Journal

Cell Stem Cell