Project description:Recurrent somatic mutations in TET2 and in other genes that regulate the epigenetic state have been identified in patients with myeloid malignancies and in other cancers. However, the in vivo effects of Tet2 loss have not been delineated. We report here that Tet2 loss leads to increased stem-cell self-renewal and to progressive stem cell expansion. Consistent with human mutational data, Tet2 loss leads to myeloproliferation in vivo, notable for splenomegaly and monocytic proliferation. In addition, haploinsufficiency for Tet2 confers increased self-renewal and myeloproliferation, suggesting that the monoallelic TET2 mutations found in most TET2-mutant leukemia patients contribute to myeloid transformation. This work demonstrates that absent or reduced Tet2 function leads to enhanced stem cell function in vivo and to myeloid transformation. These studies show that a ubiquitin ligase-substrate pair can orchestrate the molecular program of HSC differentitiation Gene expression profiles from WT and Tet2-/- sorted LSK and myeloid progenitors (CMP and GMP) were compared using genome wide mRNA expression profiling by Affymetrix genechip arrays (Mouse 430 2.0) and key targets were validated by chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments.
Project description:Recurrent somatic mutations in TET2 and in other genes that regulate the epigenetic state have been identified in patients with myeloid malignancies and in other cancers. However, the in vivo effects of Tet2 loss have not been delineated. We report here that Tet2 loss leads to increased stem-cell self-renewal and to progressive stem cell expansion. Consistent with human mutational data, Tet2 loss leads to myeloproliferation in vivo, notable for splenomegaly and monocytic proliferation. In addition, haploinsufficiency for Tet2 confers increased self-renewal and myeloproliferation, suggesting that the monoallelic TET2 mutations found in most TET2-mutant leukemia patients contribute to myeloid transformation. This work demonstrates that absent or reduced Tet2 function leads to enhanced stem cell function in vivo and to myeloid transformation. These studies show that a ubiquitin ligase-substrate pair can orchestrate the molecular program of HSC differentitiation
Project description:Recent studies have uncovered that activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) and ten-eleven-translocation (TET) family members regulate active DNA demethylation. Genetic alterations of TET2 in various myeloid malignancies and aberrant hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) self-renewal/differentiation in mice with hematopoietic tissue specific loss of Tet2 have been reported, indicating that TET2 is a master regulator of normal and malignant hematopoiesis. Despite a functional link between AID and TET in epigenetic gene regulation, the role of AID loss in normal hematopoiesis and myeloid transformation remains to be investigated. Here, we show that Aid loss in mice leads to expansion of myeloid cells and contraction in erythroid progenitors resulting in pathologic anemia possibly due to dysregulated expression of Cebpa and Gata1, myeloid/erythroid lineage specific transcription factors. Consistent with data in the murine context, silencing of AID skews differentiation towards myelomonocytic lineage in human BM cells. However, in contrast to Tet2, Aid loss does not contribute to enhanced HSC self-renewal or cooperate with Flt3-ITD in myeloid leukemogenesis. Genome-wide transcription and differential methylation analysis uncover critical role of Aid as a key epigenetic regulator. These results indicate that AID and TET2 share common effects on myeloid and erythroid lineage differentiation, and that their role is non-redundant in regulating HSC self-renewal and in myeloid transformation.
Project description:Recent studies have uncovered that activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) and ten-eleven-translocation (TET) family members regulate active DNA demethylation. Genetic alterations of TET2 in various myeloid malignancies and aberrant hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) self-renewal/differentiation in mice with hematopoietic tissue specific loss of Tet2 have been reported, indicating that TET2 is a master regulator of normal and malignant hematopoiesis. Despite a functional link between AID and TET in epigenetic gene regulation, the role of AID loss in normal hematopoiesis and myeloid transformation remains to be investigated. Here, we show that Aid loss in mice leads to expansion of myeloid cells and contraction in erythroid progenitors resulting in pathologic anemia possibly due to dysregulated expression of Cebpa and Gata1, myeloid/erythroid lineage specific transcription factors. Consistent with data in the murine context, silencing of AID skews differentiation towards myelomonocytic lineage in human BM cells. However, in contrast to Tet2, Aid loss does not contribute to enhanced HSC self-renewal or cooperate with Flt3-ITD in myeloid leukemogenesis. Genome-wide transcription and differential methylation analysis uncover critical role of Aid as a key epigenetic regulator. These results indicate that AID and TET2 share common effects on myeloid and erythroid lineage differentiation, and that their role is non-redundant in regulating HSC self-renewal and in myeloid transformation.
Project description:Hematopoitic stem cells from Utx/p53 DKO mice showed increased self-renewal potential and predisposition of differentiation to myeloid lineage compared with those from p53 KO mice. To figure out what mechanism leads to the increased self-renewal, we compared the transcriptional profiles using RNA-sequencing of FACS sorted LSK (Lin-Ckit+Sca1+) cells, which contains the hematopoietic stem cells.
Project description:Loss of immune function and an increased incidence of myeloid leukemia are two of the most clinically significant consequences of aging of the hematopoietic system. To better understand the mechanisms underlying hematopoietic aging, we evaluated the cell intrinsic functional and molecular properties of highly purified long-term hematopoietic stem cells (LT-HSCs) from young and old mice. We found that LT-HSC aging was accompanied by cell autonomous changes, including increased stem cell self-renewal, differential capacity to generate committed myeloid and lymphoid progenitors, and diminished lymphoid potential. Expression profiling revealed that LT-HSC aging was accompanied by the systemic down-regulation of genes mediating lymphoid specification and function and up-regulation of genes involved in specifying myeloid fate and function. Moreover, LT-HSCs from old mice expressed elevated levels of many genes involved in leukemic transformation. These data support a model in which age-dependent alterations in gene expression at the stem cell level presage downstream developmental potential and thereby contribute to age-dependent immune decline, and perhaps also to the increased incidence of leukemia in the elderly.
Project description:MTD project_description Inflammation and decreased stem cell function characterize organism aging, yet the relationship between these factors remains incompletely understood. This study shows that aged hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells exhibit increased ground-stage NF-κB activity, which enhances their responsiveness to undergo differentiation and loss of self-renewal in response to inflammation. The study identifies Rad21/cohesin as a critical mediator of NF-κB signals, by increasing chromatin accessibility of inter-/intra-genic and enhancer regions. Rad21/NF-κB are required for normal differentiation, but limit self-renewal of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) during aging and inflammation in an NF-κB dependent manner. HSCs from aged mice fail to downregulate Rad21/cohesin and inflammation/differentiation inducing signals in the resolution phase after acute inflammation. and The inhibition of cohesin/NF-κB is sufficient to revert the hypersensitivity of aged HSPCs to inflammation-induced differentiation. During aging, myeloid-biased HSCs with disrupted and naturally occurring reduced expression of Rad21/cohesin are increasingly selected over lymphoid-biased HSCs. Together, Rad21/cohesin mediated NF-κB signaling limits HSPC function during aging and selects for cohesin deficient HSCs with myeloid skewed differentiation.
Project description:ZNF384-rearranged fusion oncoproteins (FO) define a subset of lineage ambiguous leukemias, but the mechanistic role of ZNF384 FO in leukemogenesis and lineage ambiguity is poorly understood. Here, using viral expression in mouse and human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) and a Ep300-Zfp384 mouse model we show that ZNF384 FO promote hematopoietic expansion, myeloid lineage skewing, and self-renewal. In mouse HSPCs, concomitant lesions such as NRASG12D, were required for fully penetrant leukemia, whereas expression of ZNF384 FO drove development of B/myeloid leukemia in human HSPCs, with sensitivity of human ZNF384r leukemia to FLT3 inhibition in vivo. Mechanistically, ZNF384 FO occupy a subset of predominantly intragenic/enhancer regions with increased histone 3 lysine acetylation suggesting enhancer function. These data define a paradigm for FO-driven lineage ambiguous leukemia, in which expression in HSPCs results in deregulation of lineage-specific genes and hematopoietic skewing, progressing to full leukemic transformation in the presence of proliferative stress.
Project description:Loss of immune function and an increased incidence of myeloid leukemia are two of the most clinically significant consequences of aging of the hematopoietic system. To better understand the mechanisms underlying hematopoietic aging, we evaluated the cell intrinsic functional and molecular properties of highly purified long-term hematopoietic stem cells (LT-HSCs) from young and old mice. We found that LT-HSC aging was accompanied by cell autonomous changes, including increased stem cell self-renewal, differential capacity to generate committed myeloid and lymphoid progenitors, and diminished lymphoid potential. Expression profiling revealed that LT-HSC aging was accompanied by the systemic down-regulation of genes mediating lymphoid specification and function and up-regulation of genes involved in specifying myeloid fate and function. Moreover, LT-HSCs from old mice expressed elevated levels of many genes involved in leukemic transformation. These data support a model in which age-dependent alterations in gene expression at the stem cell level presage downstream developmental potential and thereby contribute to age-dependent immune decline, and perhaps also to the increased incidence of leukemia in the elderly. 3 old mice and 5 young mice were assayed
Project description:The hematopoietic system is maintained throughout life by hematopoietic stem cells that are capable of differentiation to all hematopoietic lineages. An intimate balance between self-renewal, differentiation, and quiescence is required to maintain hematopoiesis. Disruption of this balance can result in hematopoietic malignancy, including acute myeloid leukemia (AML). FBXO9, from the F-box ubiquitin E3 ligases, is down-regulated in patients with AML compared to normal bone marrow. FBXO9 is a substrate recognition component of the Skp1-Cullin-F-box (SCF)-type E3 ligase complex. FBXO9 is highly expressed in hematopoietic stem and progenitor populations, which contain the tumor-initiating population in AML. In AML patients, decrease in FBXO9 expression is most pronounced in patients with the inversion of chromosome 16 (Inv(16)), a rearrangement that generates the transcription factor fusion gene, CBFB-MYH11. To study FBXO9 in malignant hematopoiesis, we generated a conditional knockout mouse model using a novel CRISPR/Cas9 strategy. Our data shows that deletion of Fbxo9 in mice expressing Cbfb-MYH11 leads to markedly accelerated and aggressive leukemia development. In addition, we find loss of FBXO9 leads to increased proteasome expression and tumors are more sensitive to bortezomib suggesting that FBXO9 expression may predict patient response to bortezomib treatment.