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Bcor deficiency perturbs erythro-megakaryopoiesis and cooperates with Dnmt3a loss in acute erythroid leukemia onset in mice.

ABSTRACT: Recurrent loss-of-function mutations of BCL6 co-repressor (BCOR) gene are found in about 4% of AML patients with normal karyotype and are associated with DNMT3a mutations and poor prognosis. Therefore, new anti-leukemia treatments and mouse models are needed for this combinatorial AML genotype. For this purpose, we first generated a Bcor^-/- knockout mouse model characterized by impaired erythroid development (macrocytosis and anemia) and enhanced thrombopoiesis, which are both features of myelodysplasia/myeloproliferative neoplasms. We then created and characterized double Bcor^-/-/Dnmt3a^-/- knockout mice. Interestingly, these animals developed a fully penetrant acute erythroid leukemia (AEL) characterized by leukocytosis secondary to the expansion of blasts expressing c-Kit+ and the erythroid marker Ter119, macrocytic anemia and progressive reduction of the thrombocytosis associated with loss of Bcor alone. Transcriptomic analysis of double knockout bone marrow progenitors revealed that aberrant erythroid skewing was induced by epigenetic changes affecting specific transcriptional factors (GATA1-2) and cell-cycle regulators (Mdm2, Tp53). These findings prompted us to investigate the efficacy of demethylating agents in AEL, with significant impact on progressive leukemic burden and mice overall survival. Information gained from our model expands the knowledge on the biology of AEL and may help designing new rational treatments for patients suffering from this high-risk leukemia.

SUBMITTER: Sportoletti P

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8257496 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:BACKGROUND:Enhancers and promoters are cis-acting regulatory elements associated with lineage-specific gene expression. Previous studies showed that different categories of active regulatory elements are in regions of open chromatin, and each category is associated with a specific subset of post-translationally marked histones. These regulatory elements are systematically activated and repressed to promote commitment of hematopoietic stem cells along separate differentiation paths, including the closely related erythrocyte (ERY) and megakaryocyte (MK) lineages. However, the order in which these decisions are made remains unclear. RESULTS:To characterize the order of cell fate decisions during hematopoiesis, we collected primary cells from mouse bone marrow and isolated 10 hematopoietic populations to generate transcriptomes and genome-wide maps of chromatin accessibility and histone H3 acetylated at lysine 27 binding (H3K27ac). Principle component analysis of transcriptional and open chromatin profiles demonstrated that cells of the megakaryocyte lineage group closely with multipotent progenitor populations, whereas erythroid cells form a separate group distinct from other populations. Using H3K27ac and open chromatin profiles, we showed that 89% of immature MK (iMK)-specific active regulatory regions are present in the most primitive hematopoietic cells, 46% of which contain active enhancer marks. These candidate active enhancers are enriched for transcription factor binding site motifs for megakaryopoiesis-essential proteins, including ERG and ETS1. In comparison, only 64% of ERY-specific active regulatory regions are present in the most primitive hematopoietic cells, 20% of which containing active enhancer marks. These regions were not enriched for any transcription factor consensus sequences. Incorporation of genome-wide DNA methylation identified significant levels of de novo methylation in iMK, but not ERY. CONCLUSIONS:Our results demonstrate that megakaryopoietic profiles are established early in hematopoiesis and are present in the majority of the hematopoietic progenitor population. However, megakaryopoiesis does not constitute a "default" differentiation pathway, as extensive de novo DNA methylation accompanies megakaryopoietic commitment. In contrast, erythropoietic profiles are not established until a later stage of hematopoiesis, and require more dramatic changes to the transcriptional and epigenetic programs. These data provide important insights into lineage commitment and can contribute to ongoing studies related to diseases associated with differentiation defects.

Project description:Mammals express thousands of long noncoding (lnc) RNAs, a few of which are shown to function in tissue development. However, the entire repertoire of lncRNAs and the extent to which they regulate biological processes in different tissues and species are not defined. Indeed, most lncRNAs are not conserved between species, raising questions about function. We used RNA-Seq to identify lncRNAs in primary murine fetal liver erythroblasts expressing the lineage marker TER119, megakaryocytes (CD41+) cultured from embryonic day (E) 14.5 murine fetal liver and megakaryocyte erythroid progenitors (MEPs) isolated from mouse bone marrow. Strand-specific, paired-end, deep sequencing was performed on polyA+ mRNA from biological replicates of each sample. We assembled the transcriptomes using the Cufflinks package and generated a high-confidence transcriptome of 13,131 genes expressed in the three cell types. We identified 683 and 594 polyadenylated lncRNAs expressed in red blood cell (erythroid) precursors of mice and humans, respectively. More than one half of erythroid lncRNAs are un-annotated, emphasizing the opportunity for new discovery through studies of specialized cell types. Analysis of the murine erythroid lncRNA transcriptome indicates that ~75% arise from promoters and 25% from enhancers, many of which are regulated by the key erythroid transcription factors GATA1 and SCL/TAL1. Erythroid lncRNA expression is largely conserved among 8 different mouse strains, yet only 15% of mouse lncRNAs are expressed in humans and vice versa, reflecting dramatically greater species-specificity than coding genes. We investigated potential functions of 21 relatively abundant erythroid-specific murine lncRNAs (both conserved and non-conserved) by RNA interference in primary mouse erythroid precursors, and identified 7 whose knockdown inhibited features of terminal erythroid maturation including cell size reduction and enucleation. Strikingly, at least 6 of the 7 lncRNAs have no detectable expression in human erythroblasts, demonstrating that lack of conservation between mammalian species does not predict lack of function. These results reflect marked evolutionary differences between protein-coding genes and lncRNAs and indicate that the latter exert tissue- and species-specific roles in development. For data usage terms and conditions, please refer to http://www.genome.gov/27528022 and http://www.genome.gov/Pages/Research/ENCODE/ENCODEDataReleasePolicyFinal2008.pdf

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Bcor deficiency perturbs erythro-megakaryopoiesis and cooperates with Dnmt3a loss in acute erythroid leukemia onset in mice.

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