Gene Expression Profiling of Murine HOXB4-Transduced HSCs Shows Multiple Counter-Regulatory Signals That May Control HSC Pool Size

Abstract 2361

HOXB4 is a homeobox transcription factor that can induce hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) expansion both in vivo and in vitro. An interesting feature of HOXB4-induced HSC expansion is that HSC numbers do not exceed normal levels in vivo due to an unexplained physiological capping mechanism. To gain further insight into HOXB4 regulatory signals, we transplanted mice with bone marrow cells that had been transduced with a MSCV-HOXB4-ires-YFP vector and analyzed gene expression profiles in HSC-enriched populations 20 weeks after transplant, a time point at which HSC numbers have expanded to normal levels but no longer increasing beyond physiologic levels. We used Affymetrix arrays to analyze gene expression profiles in bone marrow cells sorted for a Lin⁻Sca-1⁺c-Kit⁺ (LSK), YFP⁺ phenotype. Using ANOVA, we identified1985 probe sets with >2 fold difference in expression (FDR<, 0.1) relative to a control vector-transduced LSK cells. A cohort of genes was identified that were known positive regulators of HSC self-renewal and proliferation. Hemgn, which we identified in a previous screen as a positive regulator of expansion and a direct transcriptional target of HOXB4, was 3.5 fold up-regulated in HOXB4 transduced LSKs. Other genes known to be important for HSCs survival, self-renewal and differentiation were upregulated to significant levels including N-myc, Meis1, Hoxa9, Hoxa10 and GATA2. Microarray data for selected genes was validated by quantitative real-time PCR on HOXB4 transduced CD34^low LSK cells, a highly purified HSC population, obtained from another set of transplanted mice at the 20 week time point.

In contrast, other gene expression changes were noted that would potentially limit or decrease stem cell numbers. PRDM16, a set domain transcription factor critical for HSC maintenance and associated with clonal hematopoietic expansions when inadvertently activated as a result of retroviral insertion, was dramatically down-regulated on the expression array and 7.6 fold decreased in the real time PCR assay of CD34^low LSK cells. TFG-beta signaling is a well defined inhibitor HSC proliferation and utilize Smad proteins as downstream effectors. Expression of Smad1 and Smad7 were significantly upregulated on the LSK expression array and 8.1 and 3.5 fold up-regulated by qPCR in CD34^low LSK cells. Another potential counter-regulatory signal was down regulation of Bcl3 mRNA, a potential anti-apoptotic effector in HSCs. We hypothesize that the HOXB4 expansion program involves activation of genes that lead to increased HSC numbers with later activation of counter-regulatory signals that limit expansion to physiologic numbers of HSCs in vivo. We are now examining how this program changes at various time points after transplantation and hypothesize the capping limits are set at relatively later time points during reconstitution. We also are studying the functional effects of these gene expression changes, and in particular, whether enforced expression of HOXB4 and PRMD16 will result in uncontrolled HSC proliferation and/or leukemia.