Erythroid-Specific Expression of LIN28A Is Sufficient for Robust Gamma-Globin Gene and Protein Expression in Adult Erythroblasts |
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| Authors: | Y Terry Lee Jaira F de Vasconcellos Colleen Byrnes Megha Kaushal Antoinette Rabel Laxminath Tumburu Joshua M Allwardt Jeffery L Miller |
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| Institution: | Molecular Genomics and Therapeutics Section, Molecular Medicine Branch, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America.; Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, UNITED STATES, |
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| Abstract: | Increasing fetal hemoglobin (HbF) levels in adult humans remains an active area in hematologic research. Here we explored erythroid-specific LIN28A expression for its effect in regulating gamma-globin gene expression and HbF levels in cultured adult erythroblasts. For this purpose, lentiviral transduction vectors were produced with LIN28A expression driven by erythroid-specific gene promoter regions of the human KLF1 or SPTA1 genes. Transgene expression of LIN28A with a linked puromycin resistance marker was restricted to the erythroid lineage as demonstrated by selective survival of erythroid colonies (greater than 95% of all colonies). Erythroblast LIN28A over-expression (LIN28A-OE) did not significantly affect proliferation or inhibit differentiation. Greater than 70% suppression of total let-7 microRNA levels was confirmed in LIN28A-OE cells. Increases in gamma-globin mRNA and protein expression with HbF levels reaching 30–40% were achieved. These data suggest that erythroblast targeting of LIN28A expression is sufficient for increasing fetal hemoglobin expression in adult human erythroblasts. |
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