A Genome-Wide Retroviral Insertional Mutagenesis Screen for Genes Cooperating with Truncated, Oncogenic GATA1s.

Somatic mutations in the hematopoietic transcription factor GATA1 are found in megakaryoblasts of Down Syndrome (DS) patients with transient myeloproliferative disorder (TMD, or transient leukemia or TL) and the related acute megakaryoblastic leukemia (DS-AMKL, or DS- AML M7). These mutations lead to production of a GATA1 variant (GATA1s) lacking its N-terminal domain. Mice carrying GATA1s mutation have normal adult hematopoiesis. However, during embryonic/fetal development, we have identified a transient population of abnormal yolk sac/fetal liver megakaryocytic progenitors in mutant mice. We proposed that these progenitor cells are the target for transformation in DS-AMKL/TMD. GATA1s mice (either during development or as adults) do not develop myeloproliferative disorder or leukemia. To recapitulate human DS TMD in mice, we bred GATA1s mice to mouse DS models (Ts65Dn and Ts1Cje) and generated GATA1s/DS double mutants. The phenotype of GATA1s/DS mice is not different from that of GATA1s mice, suggesting that these mouse DS models (representing ~166 and 112 trisomic genes on human chromosome 21, respectively, including Runx1, Ets2, and Erg) do not accurately recapitulate the effects of trisomy in DS. To search for genes that cooperate with GATA1s in an unbiased fashion, we established a genome-wide retroviral insertional mutagenesis screen. GATA1s mutant fetal liver progenitors proliferate in culture in the presence of thrombopoietin (Tpo) for about 4–5 weeks. We infected mutant fetal progenitors with MSCV retrovirus and selected in vitro in the presence of Tpo for immortalized cell lines. Retroviral integration sites in these cell lines were determined by Splinkerette PCR, and confirmed by genomic PCR. Genes that were affected by retroviral integration were confirmed by real-time PCR for their elevated expression or knock-down. From the genetic screen performed thus far, we identified two common retroviral integration sites, Evi1 and Prdm16 (PR domain containing 16). Interestingly, Evi1 is also overexpressed in M7 leukemias, though its expression in non-DS M7 leukemia is higher than in DS M7 leukemia. By retroviral overexpression, we have confirmed that ectopic expression of Evi1 in GATA1s mutant fetal progenitors further enhanced proliferation. Currently we are testing the in vivo leukemogenic abilities of these cell lines by transplantation. By this approach, we will identify genes that cooperate with GATA1s in cellular transformation and, thereby, gain insights into the mechanism of leukemogenesis in DS-AMKL/TMD.