shRNA-mediated knockdown of HMGA2 impairs the in vitro propagation of HSPCs. (A) Knockdown efficiency of shRNAs targeting HMGA2 as measured in CD34⁺CD38⁻GFP⁺ cells 2 days after transduction by quantitative PCR, and in CD34⁺GFP⁺ cells 4 days after transduction by western blot. (B) Frequency of GFP in CB CD34⁺ cells during in vitro culture for 2 shRNAs targeting HMGA2. (C-D) Relative numbers of colony-forming units granulocyte-macrophage (CFU-GM) (C) and burst-forming units erythroid (BFU-E) (D) after 2, 4, 7, and 14 days of culture following shRNA transduction. Numbers are normalized to the control cells. *P < .05; **P < .01.