Project description:We describe a case of severe neonatal anemia with kernicterus due to compound heterozygosity for null mutations in KLF1, each inherited from asymptomatic parents. One of the mutations is novel. This is the first described case of a KLF1 null human. The phenotype of severe DAT-negative non-spherocytic hemolytic anaemia (NSHA), jaundice, hepato-splenomegaly, and marked erythroblastosis is more severe than that present in CDA type IV due to dominant mutations in the second zinc-finger of KLF1. There was a very high level of HbF expression into childhood (>70%), consistent with a key role for KLF1 in human hemoglobin switching. We performed RNA-seq on circulating erythroblasts and found human KLF1 acts like mouse Klf1 to coordinate expression of many genes required to build a red cell including those encoding globins, cytoskeletal components, AHSP, heme synthesis enzymes, cell cycle regulators, and blood group antigens. We identify novel KLF1 target genes including KIF23 and KIF11 which are required for proper cytokinesis. We also identify new roles for KLF1 in autophagy, global transcriptional control and RNA splicing. We suggest loss of KLF1 should be considered in otherwise unexplained cases of severe neonatal NSHA or hydrops fetalis. mRNA sequencing on peripheral blood from a family trio (mother, father and proband) where parents were asymptomatic and proband had severe neonatal anemia.
Project description:We describe a case of severe neonatal anemia with kernicterus due to compound heterozygosity for null mutations in KLF1, each inherited from asymptomatic parents. One of the mutations is novel. This is the first described case of a KLF1 null human. The phenotype of severe DAT-negative non-spherocytic hemolytic anaemia (NSHA), jaundice, hepato-splenomegaly, and marked erythroblastosis is more severe than that present in CDA type IV due to dominant mutations in the second zinc-finger of KLF1. There was a very high level of HbF expression into childhood (>70%), consistent with a key role for KLF1 in human hemoglobin switching. We performed RNA-seq on circulating erythroblasts and found human KLF1 acts like mouse Klf1 to coordinate expression of many genes required to build a red cell including those encoding globins, cytoskeletal components, AHSP, heme synthesis enzymes, cell cycle regulators, and blood group antigens. We identify novel KLF1 target genes including KIF23 and KIF11 which are required for proper cytokinesis. We also identify new roles for KLF1 in autophagy, global transcriptional control and RNA splicing. We suggest loss of KLF1 should be considered in otherwise unexplained cases of severe neonatal NSHA or hydrops fetalis.
Project description:Hereditary Persistence of Fetal Hemoglobin (HPFH) is characterized by persistent high levels of fetal hemoglobin (HbF) in adults. Several contributory factors, both genetic and environmental, have been identified, but others remain elusive. Ten of twenty-seven members from a Maltese family presented with HPFH. A genome-wide SNP scan followed by linkage analysis revealed a candidate region on chromosome 19p13.12-13. Sequencing identified a nonsense mutation in the KLF1 gene, p.K288X, ablating the DNA binding domain of this key erythroid transcriptional regulator. Only HPFH family members were heterozygote carriers of this mutation. Expression profiling on primary erythroid progenitors revealed down-regulation of KLF1 target genes in HPFH samples. Functional assays demonstrated that, in addition to its established role in adult globin expression, KLF1 is a critical activator of the BCL11A gene, encoding a suppressor of HbF expression. These observations provide a rationale for the effects of KLF1 haploinsufficiency on HbF levels. To identify differentially expressed genes, RNA was isolated from erythroid progenitors (HEPs) cultured from peripheral blood of four HPFH (KLF1 p.K288X/wt) and four non-HPFH family members (wt/wt) and used for genome-wide expression analysis.
Project description:KLF1 (EKLF) regulates a diverse suite of genes to direct erythroid cell differentiation from bi-potent progenitors. To determine the local cis-regulatory contexts and transcription factor networks in which KLF1 operates, we performed KLF1 ChIP-seq in the mouse. We found at least 945 sites in the genome of E14.5 fetal liver erythroid cells which are occupied by endogenous KLF1. Many of these recovered sites reside in erythroid gene promoters such as β-globin, but the majority are distant to any known gene. Our data suggests KLF1 directly regulates most aspects of terminal erythroid differentiation including production of α and β-globin protein chains, heme biosynthesis, co-ordination of proliferation and anti-apoptotic pathways, and construction of the red cell membrane and cytoskeleton by functioning primarily as a transcriptional activator. Additionally, we suggest new mechanisms for KLF1 co-operation with other transcription factors, in particular the erythroid transcription factor GATA1, to maintain homeostasis in the erythroid compartment. Examination of KLF1 occupancy in primary erythroid cells. KLF1-ChIP and input samples were run on AB SOLiD Systems 2.0 and 3.0. The genomic alignment files (*sorted.txt) and peak file (*bed) contain the combined System 2.0 and 3.0 data.
Project description:Hereditary Persistence of Fetal Hemoglobin (HPFH) is characterized by persistent high levels of fetal hemoglobin (HbF) in adults. Several contributory factors, both genetic and environmental, have been identified, but others remain elusive. Ten of twenty-seven members from a Maltese family presented with HPFH. A genome-wide SNP scan followed by linkage analysis revealed a candidate region on chromosome 19p13.12-13. Sequencing identified a nonsense mutation in the KLF1 gene, p.K288X, ablating the DNA binding domain of this key erythroid transcriptional regulator. Only HPFH family members were heterozygote carriers of this mutation. Expression profiling on primary erythroid progenitors revealed down-regulation of KLF1 target genes in HPFH samples. Functional assays demonstrated that, in addition to its established role in adult globin expression, KLF1 is a critical activator of the BCL11A gene, encoding a suppressor of HbF expression. These observations provide a rationale for the effects of KLF1 haploinsufficiency on HbF levels. To identify differentially expressed genes, RNA was isolated from erythroid progenitors (HEPs) cultured from peripheral blood of four HPFH (KLF1 p.K288X/wt) and four non-HPFH family members (wt/wt) and used for genome-wide expression analysis. A minimum of 1.5E6 HEPs were harvested at day12 of culture and RNA was extracted with Trizol reagent (Sigma) and purified using the RNeasy Mini Kit (Qiagen, Crawley, UK), including an on-column DNaseI digestion, according to the manufacturer’s instructions. RNA yield was determined using the 2100 Bioanalyzer (Agilent Technologies, Santa Clara, CA, USA). 8-10 micr-g of total RNA was analysed by microarrays using cells from day 12 of culture. Quality of the total RNA samples and the resulting cRNA was assessed on the Bioanalyzer. Fragmented biotinylated cRNA was prepared and 15μg hybridized to HG-U133 plus 2 GeneChips, according to the manufacturer’s protocols (Affymetrix). The data was normalized by Robust Multi-Array average (RMA) algorithm.
Project description:Red blood cells (RBCs) mature within a specialized niche (the erythroblastic island (EI)), which consists of a central macrophage surrounded by differentiating erythroblasts. Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell derived macrophages (iPSC-DMs) enhance proliferation and terminal maturation of Umbilical Cord Blood (UCB) CD34+ derived erythroid cells and iPSC derived erythroid cells. These effects are further increased when an inducible KLF1-ERT2 fusion protein is activated in iPSC-DMs. To assess the mechanism of action, we sought to compare the transcriptome of iPSC-DMs with and without KLF1 activation. For this, we used an inducible IPSC line (iKLF1.2) in which upon tamoxifen addition, the KLF1 transcription factor is translocated to nucleus and consequently KLF1 downstream targets are expressed. The identification and characterisation of could identify factors involved in erythroid maturation and thus helpful to improve current protocols to manufacture RBCs in vitro.
Project description:Congenital dyserythropoietic anaemia (CDA) type IV has been associated with an amino acid substitution, Glu325Lys (E325K), in the transcription factor KLF1. Patients with CDA type IV present with a range of symptoms, including the persistence of nucleated red blood cells (RBCs) in the peripheral blood which reflects the known role for KLF1 within the erythroid cell lineage. The final stages of RBCs maturation and enucleation take place within the erythroblastic island (EBI) niche in close association with EBI macrophages. It is not known whether the detrimental effects of the E325K mutation in KLF1 are restricted to the erythroid lineage or whether deficiencies in macrophages associated with their niche also contribute to the disease pathology. To address this question, we generated iPSC lines genetically modified to express a KLF1-E325K-ERT2 protein that could be activated with 4OH-tamoxifen. We performed bulk RNA-sequencing on macrophages generated from these iPSCs, macrophages generated from one KLF1-E325K-ERT2 iPSC line (iCDA4.1) was compared to macrophages generated from one inducible KLF1-WT-ERT2 (K2) iPSC line which was derived from the same parental iPSCs (SFCi55) as the KLF1-E325K-ERT2 line.
Project description:Klf1 (formerly known as Eklf) regulates the development of erythroid cells from bi-potent progenitor cells via the transcriptional activation of a diverse set of genes. Mice lacking Klf1 die in utero prior to E15 from severe anemia due to the inadequate expression of genes controlling hemoglobin production, cell membrane and cytoskeletal integrity, and the cell cycle and proliferation. We have recently described the full repertoire of Klf1 binding sites in vivo by performing Klf1 ChIP-seq in primary erythroid tissue (E14.5 fetal liver). Here we describe the Klf1-dependent erythroid transcriptome by comparing mRNA-seq from Klf1+/+ and Klf1-/- erythroid tissue. This has revealed novel target genes not previously obtainable by traditional microarray technology and provided novel insights into the function of Klf1 as a transcriptional activator such as interactions with Gata1, Scl/Tal1 and p300. We also describe a set of erythroid specific promoters not previously identified that drive high level expression of otherwise ubiquitously expressed genes in erythroid cells. Additionally, our study has identified for the first time two novel lnc-RNAs that are dynamically expressed during erythroid differentiation as well as a role for Klf1 in directing apoptotic gene expression to drive the terminal stages of erythroid maturation. Examination of mRNA expression in 3 Klf1-/- and 3 Klf1+/+ fetal livers This submission represents mRNA-Seq component of study.
Project description:Krueppel-like factor 1 (KLF1) is a major transcription factor, which regulates the γ-globin to β-globin gene switch during erythropoiesis. The goal of this study was to investigate genome-wide transcriptome expression pattern in the presence of KLF1 knockdown to discover targets of KLF1 regulation involved in γ-globin silencing. To achieve KLF1 gene silencing, we stably transfected human primary erythroid cells generated from CD34+ cells, with a short hairpin lentiviral vector carrying a shKLF1 (short hairpin RNA for KLF1 loop) and a puromycin resistance gene. A set of three shKLF1 were designed uusing siDesign Center (Dharmacon) with the designations: 1) shKLF1-1, located in zinc finger at 3'-terminal; 1) shKLF1-2 located in Transcription Factor II H, and 3) shKLF1-3 located in 5’-terminal without a function region. After lentiviral packaging and transduction into CD34+ cells, each expression virus with encoding GFP, puromycin resistance fragment, and a loop consists of the KLF1 knock-down domain. The three shKLF1 vectors (shKLF1-1, shKLF1-2, shKLF1-3), along with scrambled control (shScr) was used to transduce human adult CD34+ stem cells isolated from peripheral blood of healthy adults. The cells were grown in one-phase liquid culture system as previously published by our group (Li B et al. Characterization of the transcriptome profiles related to globin gene switching during in vitro erythroid maturation. BMC Genomics. 2012; 13:153). At day-15 in the 28-day culture period, by real-time PCR and Western blot analysis we found KLF1 gene silencing mainly for shKLF-1 and shKLF-2; however, we isolated total RNA from the three stable lines for RNA-seq analysis.
Project description:KLF1 (EKLF) regulates a diverse suite of genes to direct erythroid cell differentiation from bi-potent progenitors. To determine the local cis-regulatory contexts and transcription factor networks in which KLF1 operates, we performed KLF1 ChIP-seq in the mouse. We found at least 945 sites in the genome of E14.5 fetal liver erythroid cells which are occupied by endogenous KLF1. Many of these recovered sites reside in erythroid gene promoters such as β-globin, but the majority are distant to any known gene. Our data suggests KLF1 directly regulates most aspects of terminal erythroid differentiation including production of α and β-globin protein chains, heme biosynthesis, co-ordination of proliferation and anti-apoptotic pathways, and construction of the red cell membrane and cytoskeleton by functioning primarily as a transcriptional activator. Additionally, we suggest new mechanisms for KLF1 co-operation with other transcription factors, in particular the erythroid transcription factor GATA1, to maintain homeostasis in the erythroid compartment.