HoxA10 Regulates Myeloid Progenitor Proliferation by Activating Transcription of the Gene Encoding Transforming Growth Factor Beta 2.

Abstract 1572

HoxA10 is a homeodomain transcription factor which functions as a myeloid leukemia promoter. Correlative clinical studies found that increased expression of a group of HoxA proteins, including HoxA10, in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) was associated with poor prognosis. In murine models, overexpression of HoxA10 in the bone marrow was associated with development of a myeloproliferative disease which progressed to AML with time. These results suggested that HoxA10-overexpression dysregulated cell proliferation and/or survival, and predisposed to acquisition of additional mutations which led to differentiation block and AML. Additional investigations, we and others demonstrated that HoxA10 overexpression in murine hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) expanded the granulocyte/monocyte progenitor (GMP) population in vitro and in vivo. Despite this information about the impact of HoxA10 overexpression on myeloid leukemogenesis, the mechanisms by which HoxA10 exerts this effect are largely unknown. To investigate such mechanisms, we have been identifying HoxA10 target genes. In previous studies, we identified a number of HoxA10 target genes that encode phagocyte effector proteins. HoxA10 represses transcription of these gene in myeloid progenitors, and decreased HoxA10 repression activity contributes to phenotypic differentiation as myelopoiesis proceeds. This provided a potential mechanism for HoxA10 involvement in differentiation block, but not progenitor survival or expansion. We used a chromatin immuno-precipitation based approach to identify additional HoxA10 target genes involved in these activities. Previously, we reported that HoxA10 activated the DUSP4 gene in myeloid progenitor cells. This gene encodes Mitogen Activated Protein Kinase Phosphatase 2 (Mkp2) which inhibits Jnk-induced apoptosis in myeloid progenitor cells. This provided a mechanism for increased cell survival in HoxA10-overexpressing cells. In the current studies, we identified TGFB2 as a HoxA10 target gene. This gene encodes Transforming Growth Factor Beta 2 (TgfB2) a member of the TgfB super family of cytokines. Similar to TgfB1 and 3, TgfB2 interacts with TgfB-receptors I and II. However, unlike these more classical family members, TgfB2 induces proliferation of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. We found that HoxA10 activated the TGFB2 promoter via tandem cis elements in the proximal promoter. This resulted in autocrine stimulation of proliferation in HoxA10-overexpressing GMP and leukemia cells in vitro. Increased proliferation in HoxA10-overexpressing cells involved activation of the MAP kinase pathway in a TgfB2 dependent manner. These studies identify autocrine production of pro-proliferative cytokines as a novel mechanism for the function of Hox proteins. These findings have implications for ex vivo expansion of HSC and myeloid progenitors for tissue engineering. These result also have implications for therapeutic approaches to poor prognosis AML characterized by increased Hox expression.