Hypoxia-inducible factor 1-mediated human GATA1 induction promotes erythroid differentiation under hypoxic conditions

Hypoxia-inducible factor promotes erythropoiesis through coordinated cell type-specific hypoxia responses. GATA1 is essential to normal erythropoiesis and plays a crucial role in erythroid differentiation. In this study, we show that hypoxia-induced GATA1 expression is mediated by HIF1 in erythroid cells. Under hypoxic conditions, significantly increased GATA1 mRNA and protein levels were detected in K562 cells and erythroid induction cultures of CD34(+) haematopoietic stem/progenitor cells. Enforced HIF1α expression increased GATA1 expression, while HIF1α knockdown by RNA interference decreased GATA1 expression. In silico analysis revealed one potential hypoxia response element (HRE). The results from reporter gene and mutation analysis suggested that this element is necessary for hypoxic response. Chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP)-PCR showed that the putative HRE was recognized and bound by HIF1 in vivo. These results demonstrate that the up-regulation of GATA1 during hypoxia is directly mediated by HIF1.The mRNA expression of some erythroid differentiation markers was increased under hypoxic conditions, but decreased with RNA interference of HIF1α or GATA1. Flow cytometry analysis also indicated that hypoxia, desferrioxamine or CoCl(2) induced expression of erythroid surface markers CD71 and CD235a, while expression repression of HIF1α or GATA1 by RNA interference led to a decreased expression of CD235a. These results suggested that HIF1-mediated GATA1 up-regulation promotes erythropoiesis in order to satisfy the needs of an organism under hypoxic conditions.     

Alpha4beta1 integrin and erythropoietin mediate temporally distinct steps in erythropoiesis: integrins in red cell development

Erythropoietin (Epo) is essential for the terminal proliferation and differentiation of erythroid progenitor cells. Fibronectin is an important part of the erythroid niche, but its precise role in erythropoiesis is unknown. By culturing fetal liver erythroid progenitors, we show that fibronectin and Epo regulate erythroid proliferation in temporally distinct steps: an early Epo-dependent phase is followed by a fibronectin-dependent phase. In each phase, Epo and fibronectin promote expansion by preventing apoptosis partly through bcl-xL. We show that alpha(4), alpha(5), and beta(1) are the principal integrins expressed on erythroid progenitors; their down-regulation during erythropoiesis parallels the loss of cell adhesion to fibronectin. Culturing erythroid progenitors on recombinant fibronectin fragments revealed that only substrates that engage alpha(4)beta(1)-integrin support normal proliferation. Collectively, these data suggest a two-phase model for growth factor and extracellular matrix regulation of erythropoiesis, with an early Epo-dependent, integrin-independent phase followed by an Epo-independent, alpha(4)beta(1)-integrin-dependent phase.     

A novel way to induce erythroid progenitor self renewal: cooperation of c-Kit with the erythropoietin receptor

Red blood cells are of vital importance for oxygen transport in vertebrates. Thus, their formation during development and homeostasis requires tight control of both progenitor proliferation and terminal red cell differentiation. Self renewal (i.e. long-term proliferation without differentiation) of committed erythroid progenitors has recently been shown to contribute to this regulation. Avian erythroid progenitors expressing the EGF receptor/c-ErbB (SCF/TGFalpha progenitors) can be induced to long-term proliferation by the c-ErbB ligand transforming growth factor alpha and the steroids estradiol and dexamethasone. These progenitors have not yet been described in mammals and their factor requirements are untypical for adult erythroid progenitors. Here we describe a second, distinct type of erythroid progenitor (EpoR progenitors) which can be established from freshly isolated bone marrow and is induced to self renew by ligands relevant for erythropoiesis, i.e. erythropoietin, stem cell factor, the ligand for c-Kit and the glucocorticoid receptor ligand dexamethasone. Limiting dilution cloning indicates that these EpoR progenitors are derived from normal BFU-E/CFU-E. For a detailed study, mEpoR progenitors were generated by retroviral expression of the murine Epo receptor in bone marrow erythroblasts. These progenitors carry out the normal erythroid differentiation program in recombinant differentiation factors only. We show that mEpoR progenitors are more mature than SCF/TGFalpha progenitors and also do no longer respond to transforming growth factor alpha and estradiol. In contrast they are now highly sensitive to low levels of thyroid hormone, facilitating their terminal maturation into erythrocytes.     

Combined action of c-kit and erythropoietin on erythroid progenitor cells.

Mutations at the murine dominant-white spotting locus (W) (c-kit) affect various aspects of hematopoiesis. We have made antibodies against c-Kit with the synthetic peptides deduced from the murine c-kit gene and examined the role of c-Kit in erythropoiesis. The antibody inhibited the stromal cell-dependent large colony formation of the erythroid progenitors. In the culture of erythropoietin-responsive erythroid progenitors of the anemia-inducing Friend virus-infected mouse spleen, the antibody inhibited only proliferation, but not differentiation of the progenitor cells. The inhibition was effective only at the early phase (within 6 hours after erythropoietin addition) before the cells start to proliferate induced by erythropoietin. During the early phase, erythropoietin down-regulated c-kit gene expression. These results suggest a mechanism of combined action of c-Kit with erythropoietin on the lineage-restricted erythroid progenitor cells.     

Replication of B19 parvovirus in highly enriched hematopoietic progenitor cells from normal human bone marrow.

The target cell specificity of the B19 parvovirus infection was examined by isolating highly enriched hematopoietic progenitor and stem cells from normal human bone marrow. The efficiency of the B19 parvovirus replication in enriched erythroid progenitor cells was approximately 100-fold greater than that in unseparated bone marrow cells. The more-primitive progenitor cells identical to or closely related to the human pluripotent hematopoietic stem cells, on the other hand, did not support viral replication. The B19 progeny virus produced by the enriched erythroid progenitor cells was infectious and strongly suppressed erythropoiesis in vitro. The susceptibility of both the more-primitive erythroid progenitors (burst-forming units-erythroid) and the more-mature erythroid progenitors (CFU-erythroid) to the cytolytic response of the virus and the lack of effect on the myeloid progenitors (CFU-granulocyte-macrophage) further give evidence to the remarkable tropism of the B19 parvovirus for human hematopoietic cells of erythroid lineage.     

Endothelial Cell-Selective Adhesion Molecule Expression in Hematopoietic Stem/Progenitor Cells Is Essential for Erythropoiesis Recovery after Bone Marrow Injury

Numerous red blood cells are generated every second from proliferative progenitor cells under a homeostatic state. Increased erythropoietic activity is required after myelo-suppression as a result of chemo-radio therapies. Our previous study revealed that the endothelial cell-selective adhesion molecule (ESAM), an authentic hematopoietic stem cell marker, plays essential roles in stress-induced hematopoiesis. To determine the physiological importance of ESAM in erythroid recovery, ESAM-knockout (KO) mice were treated with the anti-cancer drug, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). ESAM-KO mice experienced severe and prolonged anemia after 5-FU treatment compared to wild-type (WT) mice. Eight days after the 5-FU injection, compared to WT mice, ESAM-KO mice showed reduced numbers of erythroid progenitors in bone marrow (BM) and spleen, and reticulocytes in peripheral blood. Megakaryocyte-erythrocyte progenitors (MEPs) from the BM of 5-FU-treated ESAM-KO mice showed reduced burst forming unit-erythrocyte (BFU-E) capacities than those from WT mice. BM transplantation revealed that hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells from ESAM-KO donors were more sensitive to 5-FU treatment than that from WT donors in the WT host mice. However, hematopoietic cells from WT donors transplanted into ESAM-KO host mice could normally reconstitute the erythroid lineage after a BM injury. These results suggested that ESAM expression in hematopoietic cells, but not environmental cells, is critical for hematopoietic recovery. We also found that 5-FU treatment induces the up-regulation of ESAM in primitive erythroid progenitors and macrophages that do not express ESAM under homeostatic conditions. The phenotypic change seen in macrophages might be functionally involved in the interaction between erythroid progenitors and their niche components during stress-induced acute erythropoiesis. Microarray analyses of primitive erythroid progenitors from 5-FU-treated WT and ESAM-KO mice revealed that various signaling pathways, including the GATA1 system, were impaired in ESAM-KO mice. Thus, our data demonstrate that ESAM expression in hematopoietic progenitors is essential for erythroid recovery after a BM injury.     

BH3-only protein Noxa contributes to apoptotic control of stress-erythropoiesis

Apoptosis plays an essential role in the control of erythropoiesis under normal and pathological conditions. However, the contribution of individual proteins within cell death signalling pathways remains poorly defined. Here, we investigated the role of the pro-apoptotic Bcl-2 family member Noxa in the regulation of erythropoiesis. We found that expression of Noxa is induced during erythroid differentiation of human and murine precursor cells. Using in vitro model systems for erythroid progenitors, we observed rapid induction of Noxa upon cytokine deprivation. Knockdown or deletion of Noxa conferred significant protection against apoptosis upon cytokine withdrawal. In vivo, Noxa deficiency did not affect hematological blood parameters or erythroid progenitor composition of bone marrow and spleen under steady-state conditions. In contrast, in a model of acute haemolytic anemia, Noxa-deficiency enhanced hematocrit recovery. Moreover, in a model of chronic inflammation-induced anemia, Noxa-ablation resulted in a dramatic increase of erythroblast expansion. Our data indicate that induction of Noxa in erythroid progenitors sets a survival threshold that limits expansion beyond the number of cells that can be sustained by the available cytokines, which becomes apparent under conditions of induced anemia.     

Enforced expression of Hoxa5 in haematopoietic stem cells leads to aberrant erythropoiesis in vivo

Hoxa5 is preferentially expressed in haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and multipotent progenitor cells (MPPs), and is more highly expressed in expanding HSCs. To date, little is known regarding the role of Hoxa5 in HSCs and downstream progenitor cells in vivo. In this study, we show that increased expression of Hoxa5 in haematopoietic stem cells leads to aberrant erythropoiesis in vivo. Hoxa5 differentially modifies the cell cycle of HSCs and lineage committed progenitor cells, depending on the cellular context. Hoxa5 drives HSCs, but not MPPs, through the cell cycle and arrests erythroid progenitor cells in G0 phase. Although the HSC pool shrinks after overexpression of Hoxa5, HSCs sustain the abilities of self-renewal and multipotency. In vivo, Hoxa5 has two effects on erythropoiesis: it causes a predominance of mature erythroid lineage cells and the partial apoptosis of erythroid progenitors. RNA-seq indicates that multiple biological processes, including erythrocyte homeostasis, cell metabolism, and apoptosis, are modified by Hoxa5. The results of this study indicate that Hoxa5 is a key regulator of the HSC cell cycle, and the inappropriate expression of Hoxa5 in lineage-committed progenitor cells leads to aberrant erythropoiesis.     

Enforced expression of Hoxa5 in haematopoietic stem cells leads to aberrant erythropoiesis in vivo

Hoxa5 is preferentially expressed in haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and multipotent progenitor cells (MPPs), and is more highly expressed in expanding HSCs. To date, little is known regarding the role of Hoxa5 in HSCs and downstream progenitor cells in vivo. In this study, we show that increased expression of Hoxa5 in haematopoietic stem cells leads to aberrant erythropoiesis in vivo. Hoxa5 differentially modifies the cell cycle of HSCs and lineage committed progenitor cells, depending on the cellular context. Hoxa5 drives HSCs, but not MPPs, through the cell cycle and arrests erythroid progenitor cells in G0 phase. Although the HSC pool shrinks after overexpression of Hoxa5, HSCs sustain the abilities of self-renewal and multipotency. In vivo, Hoxa5 has two effects on erythropoiesis: it causes a predominance of mature erythroid lineage cells and the partial apoptosis of erythroid progenitors. RNA-seq indicates that multiple biological processes, including erythrocyte homeostasis, cell metabolism, and apoptosis, are modified by Hoxa5. The results of this study indicate that Hoxa5 is a key regulator of the HSC cell cycle, and the inappropriate expression of Hoxa5 in lineage-committed progenitor cells leads to aberrant erythropoiesis.