SCL/TAL1 Regulates Erythropoietin Receptor Expression.

The basic-helix-loop-helix transcription factor SCL/TAL1, is required for erythropoiesis during development, and conditional deletion in adult hematopoiesis results in hematopoietic stem cells with a competitive repopulation disadvantage and defective erythropoiesis in vitro. However, adult mice with a conditional SCL/TAL1 deletion survive with mild anemia, suggesting defective erythroid proliferation and indicating that SCL/TAL1 is important, but not essential in mature red blood cell production. We find that during erythroid differentiation of primary human hematopoietic CD34+ cells, SCL/TAL1 expression peaks at day 8–10 following erythropoietin (EPO) stimulation, concomitant with peak expression of GATA-1 and EKLF. Treatment with SCL/TAL1 antisense oligonucleotides during erythroid differentiation markedly decreases erythroid differentiation as indicated by decreased expression of GATA-1 and both b- and g-globin expression, along with the absence of the characteristic decrease in GATA-2. Microarray analysis of erythroid cells overexpressing SCL/TAL1 indicate increased gene expression for b- and g-globin, and other genes related to erythropoiesis including EPO receptor (EPO-R), and these results are confirmed in stable cell lines with increasing SCL/TAL1 expression. Examination of EPO-R transcription regulation indicates that E-boxes in the 5′ UTR can bind SCL/TAL1 in vitro and, in addition to the GATA-1 binding motif, provide transcription activity in reporter gene assays. These data indicate that in addition to the importance of SCL/TAL1 DNA binding for proliferation of BFU-E and expression of glycophorin A and protein 4.2, SCL/TAL1 is also necessary for high level expression of EPO-R. Reduction in EPO-R expression likely contributes to the anemia associated with the conditional adult deletion of SCL/TAL1 and to the proliferative defect of erythroid cells observed in vitro. Early expression of SCL/TAL1 in hematopoietic cells may activate expression of EPO-R prior to EPO stimulation of erythropoiesis and induction of GATA-1.