Project description:The transcription co-factor FOG1 interacts with the chromatin remodeling complex NuRD to mediate gene activation and gene repression during hematopoiesis. We have generated mice with a targeted mutation in the endogenous Fog1 locus that results in an N-ternimal mutation in FOG1 that disrupts the interaction with NuRD. We used gene expression microarrays to explore the global transcriptional programs regulated by FOG1 and NuRD in megakaryocyte-erythroid progenitors (MEP) to aid in understanding its role during hematopoiesis. Flow cytometry was used to isolate Megakaryocyte-Erythroid progenitors (MEP) from murine bone marrow. MEP were identified as Lineage neg, kit pos, Sca1 neg, CD34 neg, FcgrII/III low cells.
Project description:Megakaryocytic-Erythroid Progenitors (MEP) produce circulating red blood cells and platelets. Although much is known regarding megakaryocytic (Mk) and erythroid (E) maturation, detailed molecular mechanisms underlying the MEP fate decision have not been determined. Single cell RNA sequencing of highly enriched populations of primary human common myeloid progenitors (CMP), MEP, megakaryocyte progenitors (MKP) and erythroid progenitors (ERP), revealed that MEP have a distinct molecular signature with co-expression of genes otherwise expressed exclusively in CMP, MKP or ERP. Cell cycle genes are significantly differentially expressed between MEP, MKP, and ERP. We therefore tested the effects on MEP fate of genetic and pharmacologic modulation of cell cycle progression, and found that cell cycle activity mechanistically controls MEP fate decisions; cell cycle activation promotes E whereas cell cycle inhibition promotes Mk specification. The data obtained from healthy cells can now be applied to the mechanisms underlying benign and malignant disease states of Mk and E production.
Project description:The common myelo-erythroid progenitor (CMP) was subdivided based on expression of CD27. To understand the relationship between the various CD27 fractions of the CMP and downstream progenitors (granulocyte-monocyte progenitor, GMP, and megakaryocyte-erythroid progenitor, MEP), genome-wide transcriptional analysis was used.
Project description:Background: Recent advances in single-cell techniques have provided the opportunity to finely dissect cellular heterogeneity within populations previously defined by âbulkâ assays and to uncover rare cell types. In human hematopoiesis, megakaryocytes and erythroid cells differentiate from a shared precursor, the megakaryocyte-erythroid progenitor (MEP), which remains poorly defined.Results: To clarify the cellular pathway in erythro-megakaryocyte differentiation, we correlated the surface immunophenotype, transcriptional profile and differentiation potential of individual MEP cells. Highly purified, single MEP cells (n=681) were analyzed using index fluorescence-activated cell sorting with parallel targeted transcriptional profiling of the same cells performed using a specifically designed panel of 87 genes. Differentiation potential was tested in novel, single-cell differentiation assays. Our results demonstrated that immunophenotypic MEP in fact comprise three distinct subpopulations: (1) âPre-MEPâ, enriched for erythroid/megakaryocyte progenitors but with residual myeloid differentiation capacity (2) âE-MEPâ, strongly biased towards erythroid differentiation, and (3) âMK-MEPâ, a previously undescribed, rare population of cells that are bipotent but primarily generate megakaryocytic progeny. Therefore, conventionally-defined MEP are in fact a mixed population: a minority give rise to mixed-lineage colonies while the majority of cells are transcriptionally-primed to generate exclusively single-lineage output. Conclusions: Our study clarifies the cellular hierarchy in human megakaryocyte/erythroid lineage commitment and highlights the importance of using a combination of single-cell approaches to dissect cellular heterogeneity and identify rare cell types within a population. We present a novel immunophenotyping strategy that enables the prospective identification of specific intermediate progenitor populations in erythro-megakaryopoiesis, allowing for in-depth study of disorders including inherited cytopenias, myeloproliferative disorders and erythromegakaryocytic leukemias. Multiplex RT-PCR gene expression profiling of 807 human megakaryocyte-erythroid progenitor cells (MEP) isolated from three healthy donors by apheresis following G-CSF treatment. Cells were excluded if more than 70 assays did not result in amplification or displayed Ct higer than 13 for B2M or higher than 15 for GAPDH. Furthermore cells with a mean non-dropout Ct value greater than 20 were removed. This resulted in a dataset of 681 cells, which were subsequently normalised to the mean of B2M and GAPDH expression.
Project description:Background: Recent advances in single-cell techniques have provided the opportunity to finely dissect cellular heterogeneity within populations previously defined by “bulk” assays and to uncover rare cell types. In human hematopoiesis, megakaryocytes and erythroid cells differentiate from a shared precursor, the megakaryocyte-erythroid progenitor (MEP), which remains poorly defined.Results: To clarify the cellular pathway in erythro-megakaryocyte differentiation, we correlated the surface immunophenotype, transcriptional profile and differentiation potential of individual MEP cells. Highly purified, single MEP cells (n=681) were analyzed using index fluorescence-activated cell sorting with parallel targeted transcriptional profiling of the same cells performed using a specifically designed panel of 87 genes. Differentiation potential was tested in novel, single-cell differentiation assays. Our results demonstrated that immunophenotypic MEP in fact comprise three distinct subpopulations: (1) “Pre-MEP”, enriched for erythroid/megakaryocyte progenitors but with residual myeloid differentiation capacity (2) “E-MEP”, strongly biased towards erythroid differentiation, and (3) “MK-MEP”, a previously undescribed, rare population of cells that are bipotent but primarily generate megakaryocytic progeny. Therefore, conventionally-defined MEP are in fact a mixed population: a minority give rise to mixed-lineage colonies while the majority of cells are transcriptionally-primed to generate exclusively single-lineage output. Conclusions: Our study clarifies the cellular hierarchy in human megakaryocyte/erythroid lineage commitment and highlights the importance of using a combination of single-cell approaches to dissect cellular heterogeneity and identify rare cell types within a population. We present a novel immunophenotyping strategy that enables the prospective identification of specific intermediate progenitor populations in erythro-megakaryopoiesis, allowing for in-depth study of disorders including inherited cytopenias, myeloproliferative disorders and erythromegakaryocytic leukemias.
Project description:MEIS1 is a transcription factor expressed in hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPC) and in mature megakaryocytes. In contrast to its role in leukemogenesis, the role of MEIS1 in normal hematopoiesis is largely unknown. We show that MEIS1 can direct human hematopoietic progenitors towards a megakaryocyte-erythroid progenitor (MEP) fate. Ectopoic expression of MEIS1 in CD34+ cells resulted in increased erythroid differentiation at the expense of granulocyte and monocyte (GM) differentiation. MEIS1 overexpression not only skewed differentiation of CMPs towards the erythroid lineage but also reprogrammed GM progenitors towards erythrocyte differentiation. Expression profiling was used to determine the transcriptional changes induced by MEIS1 that lead to the oberved phenotype. A transcriptional program enriched for erythrocytic and megakaryocytic genes was detected.
Project description:The transcription co-factor FOG1 interacts with the chromatin remodeling complex NuRD to mediate gene activation and gene repression during hematopoiesis. We have generated mice with a targeted mutation in the endogenous Fog1 locus that results in an N-ternimal mutation in FOG1 that disrupts the interaction with NuRD. We used gene expression microarrays to explore the global transcriptional programs regulated by FOG1 and NuRD in megakaryocyte-erythroid progenitors (MEP) to aid in understanding its role during hematopoiesis.
Project description:Expression data from FACS-purified hematopoietic stem cells, common myeloid progenitors, granulocyte-macrophage progenitors, and megakaryocyte-erythroid progenitors from human bone marrow samples of elderly anemic patients