HRI depletion cooperates with pharmacologic inducers to elevate fetal hemoglobin and reduce sickle cell formation
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ABSTRACT: Increasing fetal hemoglobin (HbF) provides clinical benefit in patients with sickle cell disease (SCD). We recently identified heme-regulated inhibitor (HRI, EIF2AK1) as a novel HbF regulator. Since HRI is an erythroid-specific protein kinase it presents a potential target for pharmacologic intervention. We find that maximal HbF induction requires >80-85% HRI depletion. As it remains unclear whether this degree of HRI inhibition can be achieved pharmacologically, we explored whether HRI knockdown can be combined with pharmacologic HbF inducers to achieve greater HbF production and minimize potential adverse effects associated with treatments. Strongly cooperative HbF induction was observed when HRI depletion was combined with exposure to pomalidomide or the EHMT1/2 inhibitor UNC0638, but not hydroxyurea. Mechanistically, reduction in the levels of the HbF repressor BCL11A reflected the cooperativity of HRI loss and pomalidomide treatment, whereas UNC0638 did not modulate BCL11A levels. In conjunction with HRI loss, pomalidomide maintained its HbF inducing activity at 10-fold lower concentrations, at which condition there were minimal observed detrimental effects on erythroid cell maturation and viability as well as fewer alterations in the erythroid transcriptome. In sum, this study provides a foundation for the exploration of combining future small molecule HRI inhibitors with additional pharmacologic HbF inducers to maximize HbF production and preserve erythroid cell functionality for the treatment of SCD and other hemoglobinopathies.
ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens
PROVIDER: GSE150341 | GEO | 2020/09/21
REPOSITORIES: GEO
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