Involvement of P-TEFb/CDK9 in Cooperative Transcriptional Activation of Megakaryocytic Genes by GATA-1 and RUNX1 and in Programming of Megakaryocytic Development In Vivo.

Programming of megakaryocytic differentiation requires precise coordination of multiple signal transduction and transcription pathways. Previous in vivo and in vitro studies have implicated RUNX1 and GATA-1 as transcription factors that collaborate in the execution of this program. Analysis of the mechanism for the synergy of these two factors revealed induction of RUNX1 hyperphosphorylation by GATA-1 coexpression. A pharmacologic screen identified roscovitine as an inhibitor of the transcriptional cooperation, implicating a cyclin-dependent kinase (Cdk). A screen employing a panel of dominant-negative Cdk mutants identified Cdk9 as a critical component of the GATA-1-RUNX1 cooperation. In addition, HEXIM1, an endogenous Cdk9 inhibitor, similarly blocked transcriptional synergy. Furthermore, two kinase inhibitory compounds, DRB and flavopiridol, also blocked GATA-1-RUNX1 cooperation at concentrations specific for Cdk9 inhibition. Regarding the mechanism for GATA-1 induction of RUNX1 phosphorylation, coimmunoprecipitation experiments showed GATA-1 binding to both Cdk9 and cyclinT1. To examine the role of P-TEFb in primary megakaryocytic differentiation, human CD34+ cells in megakaryocytic cultures underwent treatment with 50 nM flavopiridol, a dose selective for Cdk9 inhibition. This treatment blocked megakaryocytic polyploidization while having no effect on the cell cycle properties of the non-megakaryocytic cells in the cultures. The treatment also impaired upregulation of CD41. Extending these findings to an in vivo model system, mice underwent treatment with daily low dose flavopiridol (5–7 mg/kg/day), a regimen previously shown to have no toxicity. Wild type C57BL/6 (wt BL/6) mice were compared with the ΔneoΔHS strain (GATA-1Lo) which has diminished GATA-1 expression in megakaryocytes. After only 1 week of treatment, the GATA-1Lo mice developed worsening thrombocytopenia associated with new-onset anemia, with several dying after 2 weeks of treatment. Flow cytometry on marrow from the treated GATA-1Lo mice revealed a marked expansion of abnormal megakaryocytes showing coexpression of CD71 plus CD41 and loss of polyploidization. Marrow and spleen histology showed extensive replacement by immature-appearing megakaryocytes with hypolobulated nuclei, as well as frequent pyknotic megakaryocytes. The control mice, flavopiridol treated wt BL/6 and saline treated GATA-1Lo, displayed none of these abnormalities. Additional experiments determined the flavopiridol effect on the GATA-1Lo mice to be completely reversible, with normalization of all parameters 2 weeks after ending treatment. In aggregate, these data implicate P-TEFb recruitment by GATA-1 in mediating cooperative activation of megakaryocytic promoters with RUNX1. This pathway may depend in part on the direct phosphorylation of RUNX1 by Cdk9. In mice, a synthetic lethal relationship between megakaryocytic GATA-1 deficiency and Cdk9 inhibition exists, manifesting as a fulminant but reversible megakaryocytic proliferative disorder reminiscent of the Down syndrome-associated megakaryocyte proliferations. A model is proposed in which P-TEFb, as a component of GATA-1-RUNX1 transcriptional complexes, plays an integral role in the specific programming of megakaryocytic differentiation, with particular importance in the unique cell cycle changes associated with this lineage.