技术资料

Defining the molecular mechanisms underpinning fetal (gamma) globin gene silencing may provide strategies for reactivation of gamma-gene expression,a major therapeutic objective in patients with beta-thalassemia and sickle cell disease (SCD). We have previously demonstrated that symmetric methylation of histone H4 Arginine 3 (H4R3me2s) by the protein arginine methyltransferase PRMT5 is required for recruitment of the DNA methyltransferase DNMT3A to the gamma-promoter,and subsequent DNA methylation and gene silencing. Here we show in an erythroid cell line,and in primary adult erythroid progenitors that PRMT5 induces additional repressive epigenetic marks at the gamma-promoter through the assembly of a multiprotein repressor complex containing the histone modifying enzymes SUV4-20h1,casein kinase 2alpha (CK2alpha),and components of the nucleosome remodeling and histone deacetylation complex. Expression of a mutant form of PRMT5 lacking methyltransferase activity or shRNA-mediated knockdown of SUV4-20h1 resulted in loss of complex binding to the gamma-promoter,reversal of both histone and DNA repressive epigenetic marks,and increased gamma-gene expression. The repressive H4K20me3 mark induced by SUV4-20h1 is enriched on the gamma-promoter in erythroid progenitors from adult bone marrow compared with cord blood,suggesting developmental specificity. These studies define coordinated epigenetic events linked to fetal globin gene silencing,and provide potential therapeutic targets for the treatment of beta-thalassemia and SCD. View Publication

A population of CD133(+)Lin(-)CD45(-) very small embryonic/epiblast-like stem cells (VSELs) has been purified by multiparameter sorting from umbilical cord blood (UCB). To speed up isolation of these cells,we employed anti-CD133-conjugated paramagnetic beads followed by staining with Aldefluor to detect aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) activity; we subsequently sorted CD45(-)/GlyA(-)/CD133(+)/ALDH(high) and CD45(-)/GlyA(-)/CD133(+)/ALDH(low) cells,which are enriched for VSELs,and CD45(+)/GlyA /CD133(+)/ALDH(high) and CD45(+)/GlyA(-)/CD133(+)/ALDH(low) cells,which are enriched for hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPCs). Although freshly isolated CD45(-) VSELs did not grow hematopoietic colonies,the same cells,when activated/expanded over OP9 stromal support,acquired hematopoietic potential and grew colonies composed of CD45(+) hematopoietic cells in methylcellulose cultures. We also observed that CD45(-)/GlyA(-)/CD133(+)/ALDH(high) VSELs grew colonies earlier than CD45(-)/GlyA(-)/CD133(+)/ALDH(low) VSELs,which suggests that the latter cells need more time to acquire hematopoietic commitment. In support of this possibility,real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis confirmed that,whereas freshly isolated CD45(-)/GlyA(-)/CD133(+)/ALDH(high) VSELs express more hematopoietic transcripts (for example,c-myb),CD45(-)/GlyA(-)/CD133(+)/ALDH(low) VSELs exhibit higher levels of pluripotent stem cell markers (for example,Oct-4). More importantly,hematopoietic cells derived from VSELs that were co-cultured over OP9 support were able to establish human lympho-hematopoietic chimerism in lethally irradiated non-obese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficiency mice 4-6 weeks after transplantation. Overall,our data suggest that UCB-VSELs correspond to the most primitive population of HSPCs in UCB. View Publication

Hematopoiesis depends on the association of hematopoietic stem cells with stromal cells that constitute the hematopoietic microenvironment. The in vitro development of the endothelial cell from umbilical cord blood (UCB) is not well established and has met very limited success. In this study,UCB CD34(+) cells were cultured for 5 weeks in a stroma-free liquid culture system using thrombopoietin,flt3 ligand,and granulocyte-colony stimulating factor. By week 4-5,we found that firmly adherent fibroblast-like cells were established. These cells showed characteristics of endothelial cells expressing von Willebrand factor,human vascular cell adhesion molecule-1,human intracellular adhesion molecule-1,human CD31,E-selectin,and human macrophage. Furthermore,when comparing an ex vivo system without an established endothelial monolayer to an ex vivo system with an established endothelial monolayer,better expansion of total nucleated cells,CD34(+) cells,and colony-forming units (CFUs)-granulocyte-macrophage and CFUs-granulocyte-erythroid-megakaryocyte-macrophage were found during culture. This phenomenon was in part due to the fact that a significant reduction of apoptotic fractions was found in the CD34(+) cells,which were cultured on the adherent monolayer for up to 5 weeks. To gather quantitative data on the number of endothelial cells derived from a given number of CD34 cells,we performed limiting dilution assay by using Poisson distribution: the number of tested cells (linear scale) producing a 37% negative culture (logarithmic scale) is the number of cells containing one endothelial cell. By this method,one endothelial cell may be found from 314 CD34(+) cells after 5 weeks of culture. These results suggest that the UCB CD34(+) cell fraction contains endothelial cell precursors,establishing the hematopoietic microenvironment and providing the beneficial effects through downregulating apoptosis on UCB expansion protocols. These observations may provide insight for future cellular therapy or graft engineering. View Publication

Two critical concerns in clinical cord blood transplantation are the initial time to engraftment and the subsequent restoration of immune function. These studies measured the impact of progenitor cell dose on both the pace and strength of hematopoietic reconstitution by transplanting nonobese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficiency/interleukin-2 receptor-gamma-null (NSγ) mice with lineage-depleted aldehyde dehydrogenase-bright CD34(+) human cord blood progenitors. The progress of each transplant was monitored over an extended time course by repeatedly analyzing the peripheral blood for human hematopoietic cells. In vivo human hematopoietic development was complete. After long-term transplantation assays (≥ 19 weeks),human T-cell development was documented within multiple tissues in 16 of 32 NSγ mice. Human T-cell differentiation was active within NSγ thymuses,as documented by the presence of CD4(+) CD8(+) T-cell progenitors as well as T-cell receptor excision circles. It is important to note that although myeloid and B-cell engraftment was detected as early as 4 weeks after transplantation,human T-cell development was exclusively late onset. High progenitor cell doses were associated with a robust human hematopoietic chimerism that accelerated both initial time to engraftment and subsequent T-cell development. At lower progenitor cell doses,the chimerism was weak and the human hematopoietic lineage development was frequently incomplete. View Publication