Neonatal expression of RNA-binding protein IGF2BP3 regulates the human fetal-adult megakaryocyte transition

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Abstract

Hematopoietic transitions that accompany fetal development, such as erythroid globin chain switching, play important roles in normal physiology and disease development. In the megakaryocyte lineage, human fetal progenitors do not execute the adult morphogenesis program of enlargement, polyploidization, and proplatelet formation. Although these defects decline with gestational stage, they remain sufficiently severe at birth to predispose newborns to thrombocytopenia. These defects may also contribute to inferior platelet recovery after cord blood stem cell transplantation and may underlie inefficient platelet production by megakaryocytes derived from pluripotent stem cells. In this study, comparison of neonatal versus adult human progenitors has identified a blockade in the specialized positive transcription elongation factor b (P-TEFb) activation mechanism that is known to drive adult megakaryocyte morphogenesis. This blockade resulted from neonatal-specific expression of an oncofetal RNA-binding protein, IGF2BP3, which prevented the destabilization of the nuclear RNA 7SK, a process normally associated with adult megakaryocytic P-TEFb activation. Knockdown of IGF2BP3 sufficed to confer both phenotypic and molecular features of adult-type cells on neonatal megakaryocytes. Pharmacologic inhibition of IGF2BP3 expression via bromodomain and extraterminal domain (BET) inhibition also elicited adult features in neonatal megakaryocytes. These results identify IGF2BP3 as a human ontogenic master switch that restricts megakaryocyte development by modulating a lineage-specific P-TEFb activation mechanism, revealing potential strategies toward enhancing platelet production.

Authors

Kamaleldin E. Elagib, Chih-Huan Lu, Goar Mosoyan, Shadi Khalil, Ewelina Zasadzińska, Daniel R. Foltz, Peter Balogh, Alejandro A. Gru, Deborah A. Fuchs, Lisa M. Rimsza, Els Verhoeyen, Miriam Sansó, Robert P. Fisher, Camelia Iancu-Rubin, Adam N. Goldfarb

Gene expression and mutation-guided synthetic lethality eradicates proliferating and quiescent leukemia cells

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Abstract

Quiescent and proliferating leukemia cells accumulate highly lethal DNA double-strand breaks that are repaired by 2 major mechanisms: BRCA-dependent homologous recombination and DNA-dependent protein kinase–mediated (DNA-PK–mediated) nonhomologous end-joining, whereas DNA repair pathways mediated by poly(ADP)ribose polymerase 1 (PARP1) serve as backups. Here we have designed a personalized medicine approach called gene expression and mutation analysis (GEMA) to identify BRCA- and DNA-PK–deficient leukemias either directly, using reverse transcription-quantitative PCR, microarrays, and flow cytometry, or indirectly, by the presence of oncogenes such as BCR-ABL1. DNA-PK–deficient quiescent leukemia cells and BRCA/DNA-PK–deficient proliferating leukemia cells were sensitive to PARP1 inhibitors that were administered alone or in combination with current antileukemic drugs. In conclusion, GEMA-guided targeting of PARP1 resulted in dual cellular synthetic lethality in quiescent and proliferating immature leukemia cells, and is thus a potential approach to eradicate leukemia stem and progenitor cells that are responsible for initiation and manifestation of the disease. Further, an analysis of The Cancer Genome Atlas database indicated that this personalized medicine approach could also be applied to treat numerous solid tumors from individual patients.

Authors

Margaret Nieborowska-Skorska, Katherine Sullivan, Yashodhara Dasgupta, Paulina Podszywalow-Bartnicka, Grazyna Hoser, Silvia Maifrede, Esteban Martinez, Daniela Di Marcantonio, Elisabeth Bolton-Gillespie, Kimberly Cramer-Morales, Jaewong Lee, Min Li, Artur Slupianek, Daniel Gritsyuk, Sabine Cerny-Reiterer, Ilona Seferynska, Tomasz Stoklosa, Lars Bullinger, Huaqing Zhao, Vera Gorbunova, Katarzyna Piwocka, Peter Valent, Curt I. Civin, Markus Muschen, John E. Dick, Jean C.Y. Wang, Smita Bhatia, Ravi Bhatia, Kolia Eppert, Mark D. Minden, Stephen M. Sykes, Tomasz Skorski

The U2AF1^S34F mutation induces lineage-specific splicing alterations in myelodysplastic syndromes

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Abstract

Mutations of the splicing factor–encoding gene U2AF1 are frequent in the myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), a myeloid malignancy, and other cancers. Patients with MDS suffer from peripheral blood cytopenias, including anemia, and an increasing percentage of bone marrow myeloblasts. We studied the impact of the common U2AF1^S34F mutation on cellular function and mRNA splicing in the main cell lineages affected in MDS. We demonstrated that U2AF1^S34F expression in human hematopoietic progenitors impairs erythroid differentiation and skews granulomonocytic differentiation toward granulocytes. RNA sequencing of erythroid and granulomonocytic colonies revealed that U2AF1^S34F induced a higher number of cassette exon splicing events in granulomonocytic cells than in erythroid cells. U2AF1^S34F altered mRNA splicing of many transcripts that were expressed in both cell types in a lineage-specific manner. In hematopoietic progenitors, the introduction of isoform changes identified in the U2AF1^S34F target genes H2AFY, encoding an H2A histone variant, and STRAP, encoding serine/threonine kinase receptor–associated protein, recapitulated phenotypes associated with U2AF1^S34F expression in erythroid and granulomonocytic cells, suggesting a causal link. Furthermore, we showed that isoform modulation of H2AFY and STRAP rescues the erythroid differentiation defect in U2AF1^S34F MDS cells, suggesting that splicing modulators could be used therapeutically. These data have critical implications for understanding MDS phenotypic heterogeneity and support the development of therapies targeting splicing abnormalities.

Authors

Bon Ham Yip, Violetta Steeples, Emmanouela Repapi, Richard N. Armstrong, Miriam Llorian, Swagata Roy, Jacqueline Shaw, Hamid Dolatshad, Stephen Taylor, Amit Verma, Matthias Bartenstein, Paresh Vyas, Nicholas C.P. Cross, Luca Malcovati, Mario Cazzola, Eva Hellström-Lindberg, Seishi Ogawa, Christopher W.J. Smith, Andrea Pellagatti, Jacqueline Boultwood

Cooperative gene activation by AF4 and DOT1L drives MLL-rearranged leukemia

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Abstract

The eleven-nineteen leukemia (ENL) protein family, composed of ENL and AF9, is a common component of 3 transcriptional modulators: AF4–ENL–P-TEFb complex (AEP), DOT1L-AF10-ENL complex (referred to as the DOT1L complex) and polycomb-repressive complex 1 (PRC1). Each complex associates with chromatin via distinct mechanisms, conferring different transcriptional properties including activation, maintenance, and repression. The mixed-lineage leukemia (MLL) gene often fuses with ENL and AF10 family genes in leukemia. However, the functional interrelationship among those 3 complexes in leukemic transformation remains largely elusive. Here, we have shown that MLL-ENL and MLL-AF10 constitutively activate transcription by aberrantly inducing both AEP-dependent transcriptional activation and DOT1L-dependent transcriptional maintenance, mostly in the absence of PRC1, to fully transform hematopoietic progenitors. These results reveal a cooperative transcriptional activation mechanism of AEP and DOT1L and suggest a molecular rationale for the simultaneous inhibition of the MLL fusion–AF4 complex and DOT1L for more effective treatment of MLL-rearranged leukemia.

Authors

Hiroshi Okuda, Boban Stanojevic, Akinori Kanai, Takeshi Kawamura, Satoshi Takahashi, Hirotaka Matsui, Akifumi Takaori-Kondo, Akihiko Yokoyama

PCBP1 and NCOA4 regulate erythroid iron storage and heme biosynthesis

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Abstract

Developing erythrocytes take up exceptionally large amounts of iron, which must be transferred to mitochondria for incorporation into heme. This massive iron flux must be precisely controlled to permit the coordinated synthesis of heme and hemoglobin while avoiding the toxic effects of chemically reactive iron. In cultured animal cells, iron chaperones poly rC–binding protein 1 (PCBP1) and PCBP2 deliver iron to ferritin, the sole cytosolic iron storage protein, and nuclear receptor coactivator 4 (NCOA4) mediates the autophagic turnover of ferritin. The roles of PCBP, ferritin, and NCOA4 in erythroid development remain unclear. Here, we show that PCBP1, NCOA4, and ferritin are critical for murine red cell development. Using a cultured cell model of erythroid differentiation, depletion of PCBP1 or NCOA4 impaired iron trafficking through ferritin, which resulted in reduced heme synthesis, reduced hemoglobin formation, and perturbation of erythroid regulatory systems. Mice lacking Pcbp1 exhibited microcytic anemia and activation of compensatory erythropoiesis via the regulators erythropoietin and erythroferrone. Ex vivo differentiation of erythroid precursors from Pcbp1-deficient mice confirmed defects in ferritin iron flux and heme synthesis. These studies demonstrate the importance of ferritin for the vectorial transfer of imported iron to mitochondria in developing red cells and of PCBP1 and NCOA4 in mediating iron flux through ferritin.

Authors

Moon-Suhn Ryu, Deliang Zhang, Olga Protchenko, Minoo Shakoury-Elizeh, Caroline C. Philpott

Amino acid–insensitive mTORC1 regulation enables nutritional stress resilience in hematopoietic stem cells

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Abstract

The mTOR pathway is a critical determinant of cell persistence and growth wherein mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) mediates a balance between growth factor stimuli and nutrient availability. Amino acids or glucose facilitates mTORC1 activation by inducing RagA GTPase recruitment of mTORC1 to the lysosomal outer surface, enabling activation of mTOR by the Ras homolog Rheb. Thereby, RagA alters mTORC1-driven growth in times of nutrient abundance or scarcity. Here, we have evaluated differential nutrient-sensing dependence through RagA and mTORC1 in hematopoietic progenitors, which dynamically drive mature cell production, and hematopoietic stem cells (HSC), which provide a quiescent cellular reserve. In nutrient-abundant conditions, RagA-deficient HSC were functionally unimpaired and upregulated mTORC1 via nutrient-insensitive mechanisms. RagA was also dispensable for HSC function under nutritional stress conditions. Similarly, hyperactivation of RagA did not affect HSC function. In contrast, RagA deficiency markedly altered progenitor population function and mature cell output. Therefore, RagA is a molecular mechanism that distinguishes the functional attributes of reactive progenitors from a reserve stem cell pool. The indifference of HSC to nutrient sensing through RagA contributes to their molecular resilience to nutritional stress, a characteristic that is relevant to organismal viability in evolution and in modern HSC transplantation approaches.

Authors

Demetrios Kalaitzidis, Dongjun Lee, Alejo Efeyan, Youmna Kfoury, Naema Nayyar, David B. Sykes, Francois E. Mercier, Ani Papazian, Ninib Baryawno, Gabriel D. Victora, Donna Neuberg, David M. Sabatini, David T. Scadden

Fibroblastic niches prime T cell alloimmunity through Delta-like Notch ligands

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Abstract

Alloimmune T cell responses induce graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), a serious complication of allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (allo-BMT). Although Notch signaling mediated by Delta-like 1/4 (DLL1/4) Notch ligands has emerged as a major regulator of GVHD pathogenesis, little is known about the timing of essential Notch signals and the cellular source of Notch ligands after allo-BMT. Here, we have shown that critical DLL1/4-mediated Notch signals are delivered to donor T cells during a short 48-hour window after transplantation in a mouse allo-BMT model. Stromal, but not hematopoietic, cells were the essential source of Notch ligands during in vivo priming of alloreactive T cells. GVHD could be prevented by selective inactivation of Dll1 and Dll4 in subsets of fibroblastic stromal cells that were derived from chemokine Ccl19-expressing host cells, including fibroblastic reticular cells and follicular dendritic cells. However, neither T cell recruitment into secondary lymphoid organs nor initial T cell activation was affected by Dll1/4 loss. Thus, we have uncovered a pathogenic function for fibroblastic stromal cells in alloimmune reactivity that can be dissociated from their homeostatic functions. Our results reveal what we believe to be a previously unrecognized Notch-mediated immunopathogenic role for stromal cell niches in secondary lymphoid organs after allo-BMT and define a framework of early cellular and molecular interactions that regulate T cell alloimmunity.

Authors

Jooho Chung, Christen L. Ebens, Eric Perkey, Vedran Radojcic, Ute Koch, Leonardo Scarpellino, Alexander Tong, Frederick Allen, Sherri Wood, Jiane Feng, Ann Friedman, David Granadier, Ivy T. Tran, Qian Chai, Lucas Onder, Minhong Yan, Pavan Reddy, Bruce R. Blazar, Alex Y. Huang, Todd V. Brennan, D. Keith Bishop, Burkhard Ludewig, Christian W. Siebel, Freddy Radtke, Sanjiv A. Luther, Ivan Maillard

Downregulation of GATA1 drives impaired hematopoiesis in primary myelofibrosis

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Abstract

Primary myelofibrosis (PMF) is a clonal hematologic malignancy characterized by BM fibrosis, extramedullary hematopoiesis, circulating CD34⁺ cells, splenomegaly, and a propensity to evolve to acute myeloid leukemia. Moreover, the spleen and BM of patients harbor atypical, clustered megakaryocytes, which contribute to the disease by secreting profibrotic cytokines. Here, we have revealed that megakaryocytes in PMF show impaired maturation that is associated with reduced GATA1 protein. In investigating the cause of GATA1 downregulation, our gene-expression study revealed the presence of the RPS14-deficient gene signature, which is associated with defective ribosomal protein function and linked to the erythroid lineage in 5q deletion myelodysplastic syndrome. Surprisingly, reduced GATA1 expression and impaired differentiation were limited to megakaryocytes, consistent with a proproliferative effect of a GATA1 deficiency on this lineage. Importantly, expression of GATA1 effectively rescued maturation of PMF megakaryocytes. Together, these results suggest that ribosomal deficiency contributes to impaired megakaryopoiesis in myeloproliferative neoplasms.

Authors

Laure Gilles, Ahmet Dirim Arslan, Christian Marinaccio, Qiang Jeremy Wen, Priyanka Arya, Maureen McNulty, Qiong Yang, Jonathan C. Zhao, Katerina Konstantinoff, Terra Lasho, Animesh Pardanani, Brady Stein, Isabelle Plo, Sriram Sundaravel, Amittha Wickrema, Annarita Migliaccio, Sandeep Gurbuxani, William Vainchenker, Leonidas C. Platanias, Ayalew Tefferi, John D. Crispino

Endothelial antigen assembly leads to thrombotic complications in heparin-induced thrombocytopenia

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Abstract

Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT) is a prothrombotic disorder initiated by antibodies against complexes between human platelet factor 4 (hPF4) and heparin. A better understanding of the events that initiate the prothrombotic state may improve approaches to antithrombotic management. Here, we visualized thrombus formation in an in vivo murine model and an endothelialized microfluidic system that simulate the pathogenesis of HIT. hPF4 released from platelets predominantly bound to peri-injury endothelium and formed HIT antigenic complexes that were dissociated by heparin. In mice expressing both hPF4⁺ and human platelet IgG Fc receptor IIA (FcγRIIA), infusion of the HIT-like monoclonal antibody KKO increased fibrin and platelet deposition at sites of injury, followed immediately by antigen formation on proximate endothelial cells. After a few minutes, HIT antigen was detected within the thrombus itself at the interface between the platelet core and the surrounding shell. We observed similar results in the humanized, endothelialized microfluidic system. hPF4 and KKO selectively bound to photochemically injured endothelium at sites where surface glycocalyx was reduced. These studies support the concept that the perithrombus endothelium is the predominant site of HIT antigen assembly. This suggests that disrupting antigen formation along the endothelium or protecting the endothelium may provide a therapeutic opportunity to prevent thrombotic complications of HIT, while sparing systemic hemostatic pathways.

Authors

Vincent Hayes, Ian Johnston, Gowthami M. Arepally, Steven E. McKenzie, Douglas B. Cines, Lubica Rauova, Mortimer Poncz

Mutations in tropomyosin 4 underlie a rare form of human macrothrombocytopenia

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Abstract

Platelets are anuclear cells that are essential for blood clotting. They are produced by large polyploid precursor cells called megakaryocytes. Previous genome-wide association studies in nearly 70,000 individuals indicated that single nucleotide variants (SNVs) in the gene encoding the actin cytoskeletal regulator tropomyosin 4 (TPM4) exert an effect on the count and volume of platelets. Platelet number and volume are independent risk factors for heart attack and stroke. Here, we have identified 2 unrelated families in the BRIDGE Bleeding and Platelet Disorders (BPD) collection who carry a TPM4 variant that causes truncation of the TPM4 protein and segregates with macrothrombocytopenia, a disorder characterized by low platelet count. N-Ethyl-N-nitrosourea–induced (ENU-induced) missense mutations in Tpm4 or targeted inactivation of the Tpm4 locus led to gene dosage–dependent macrothrombocytopenia in mice. All other blood cell counts in Tpm4-deficient mice were normal. Insufficient TPM4 expression in human and mouse megakaryocytes resulted in a defect in the terminal stages of platelet production and had a mild effect on platelet function. Together, our findings demonstrate a nonredundant role for TPM4 in platelet biogenesis in humans and mice and reveal that truncating variants in TPM4 cause a previously undescribed dominant Mendelian platelet disorder.

Authors

Irina Pleines, Joanne Woods, Stephane Chappaz, Verity Kew, Nicola Foad, José Ballester-Beltrán, Katja Aurbach, Chiara Lincetto, Rachael M. Lane, Galina Schevzov, Warren S. Alexander, Douglas J. Hilton, William J. Astle, Kate Downes, Paquita Nurden, Sarah K. Westbury, Andrew D. Mumford, Samya G. Obaji, Peter W. Collins, NIHR BioResource, Fabien Delerue, Lars M. Ittner, Nicole S. Bryce, Mira Holliday, Christine A. Lucas, Edna C. Hardeman, Willem H. Ouwehand, Peter W. Gunning, Ernest Turro, Marloes R. Tijssen, Benjamin T. Kile