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J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 282, Issue 9, 6473-6483, March 2, 2007
The Transcriptional Repressor GFI-1 Antagonizes PU.1 Activity through Protein-Protein Interaction*
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| ABSTRACT |
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| INTRODUCTION |
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Gfi-1 is required for granulocyte development. Human GFI-1 mutations were isolated from neutropenic patients, and these mutations hinder the ability of GFI-1 to repress transcription (11). Additionally, two independent Gfi-1-/- mouse strains that exhibit neutropenia were engineered (9, 10). An abnormal population of CD11b+Gr-1+ cells sharing characteristics of granulocytes and macrophages develops in Gfi-1-/- mice (10). These cells lack cytoplasmic granules and do not express RNA for secondary granule proteins. Bone marrow from Gfi-1-/- mice exhibits higher levels of macrophage colony-stimulating factor receptor (M-CSFR)4 and PU.1 RNAs compared with bone marrow from wild-type mice. Because both of these genes are transcriptional targets of the Ets family transcription factor PU.1, we hypothesized that some of the defects observed in mutants may be due to the lack of antagonism of PU.1 activity in granulocytes by GFI-1.
Mice lacking PU.1 do not make mature macrophages, granulocytes, or B cells (12, 13). Interestingly, PU.1 concentration is critical for the specification of cell fates in the hematopoietic system. High levels of PU.1 via retroviral expression direct macrophage development of PU.1-/- fetal liver hematopoietic progenitors; however, low levels promote B cell differentiation instead (14). We have observed that PU.1 levels are involved in determining whether myeloid progenitors develop into macrophages or granulocytes (15). PU.1 interacts with several important transcription factors involved in the specification of cell fates: GATA-1, CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein-
(C/EBP
), and B cell-specific activator protein (1621). All of these factors inhibit the ability of PU.1 to activate the transcription of specific promoters. For GATA-1 and C/EBP
, it has been proposed that the ratios of PU.1 to these factors in uncommitted hematopoietic progenitors are important in determining cell fate decisions (15, 19, 20).
Here, we show that GFI-1 physically interacts with PU.1 and represses its transactivation capability. GFI-1 specifically blocks PU.1-induced macrophage differentiation of a myeloid cell line, and exogenous GFI-1 expression in primary hematopoietic progenitors increases granulocyte differentiation. Finally, we examined bone marrow from Gfi-1-/-PU.1+/- mice and observed that decreasing PU.1 dosage reduced the mixed myeloid lineage phenotype of Gfi-1-deficient cells. Our data suggest that GFI-1 antagonism of PU.1 is critical for down-regulation of macrophage gene expression in developing granulocytes.
| EXPERIMENTAL PROCEDURES |
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, MigR1-PU.1, (Gal4)5-luciferase, and Gal4-PU.1 fusion plasmids have been described previously (15, 23). The retroviral (rv) green fluorescent protein (GFP), rv-GFI-1, and rv-GFI-1 Pro-to-Ala (GFI-1P/A) constructs (24) were provided by Dr. Jinfang Zhu (National Institutes of Health). Plasmid pSport-GFI-1 was obtained from American Type Culture Collection (IMAGE clone 5585794).
Transient TransfectionsU937 cells were electroporated as described previously (25) using 25 µg of luciferase reporter plasmid, 50 µg of rv-GFI-1 plasmid, and 5 µg of pRL-tk (thymidine kinase promoter-Renilla luciferase) plasmid. The total amount of plasmid DNA was kept constant with rv-GFP. 293T cells were transfected using the BD Biosciences CalPhos mammalian transfection kit. For M-CSFR promoter assays, cells were cotransfected with 2 µg of pGL3-MR, 4 µg of MigR1-PU.1 or MigR1-C/EBP
, 4 or 8 µg of rv-GFI-1, and 25 ng of pRL-tk. For Gal4-regulated promoter assays, cells were transfected with 5 µg of (Gal4)5-luciferase; 2.5 µg of Gal4 DNA-binding domain, Gal4-full-length PU.1, or Gal4-PU.1 transactivation domain; 4 µg of rv-GFI-1 or rv-GFI-1P/A; and 25 ng of pRL-tk. The total amount of plasmid was kept constant with appropriate empty expression plasmids. 48-h post-transfection, cell lysates were harvested using Promega cell lysis buffer. Firefly and Renilla luciferase activities were measured using the Dual-Luciferase assay system (Promega Corp.). All samples were done in triplicate, and firefly luciferase values were normalized to Renilla luciferase values.
In Vitro Binding AssaysGlutathione S-transferase (GST) fusion proteins were prepared as described (23). Bacterial cells expressing GST-fused full-length GFI-1 (amino acids 1423), N-terminal GFI-1 (amino acids 1258), and C-terminal GFI-1 (amino acids 193423) were obtained from Dr. H. L. Grimes (University of Cincinnati). GST-Znf35 and GST-
Znf36 were constructed by PCR with specific primers and by subcloning of the PCR product into pGEX-4T3. GST-GFI-1 fusion proteins bound to glutathione-agarose were incubated in NETN buffer (0.5% Nonidet P-40, 1 mM EDTA, 20 mM Tris-HCl (pH 8.0), and 200 mM NaCl) with in vitro translated PU.1 proteins prepared by the TNT reticulocyte lysate system (Promega Corp.). Plasmids containing PU.1 deletion mutants have been described and were provided by Dr. M. L. Atchison (University of Pennsylvania) (26). After a 2-h incubation, bound complexes were washed four times with NETN buffer. Bound complexes were eluted in sample buffer and separated by SDS-PAGE. Bound proteins were visualized by autoradiography.
Co-immunoprecipitations293T cells were transfected with 5 µg of pcDNA3-PU.1 and/or pSport-GFI-1 using Lipofectamine 2000 (Invitrogen) according to the manufacturer's instructions. Forty-eight hours post-transfection, whole cell lysates were prepared with cell lysis buffer (50 mM Tris-HCl (pH 7.5), 100 mM NaCl, 5 mM EDTA, 1 mM ZnSO4, 5% glycerol, 1% Nonidet P-40, and 1% sodium deoxycholate). Lysates were incubated overnight at 4 °C with 2 µl of anti-PU.1 monoclonal antibody (Pharmingen) or 2 µl of anti-GFI-1 antibody (clone N-20, catalog no. sc-8558, Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Inc.) and protein A-agarose (Invitrogen). Agarose beads and captured protein complexes were washed five times with cell lysis buffer. Protein lysates were eluted in SDS-PAGE sample buffer, separated by SDS-PAGE, and immunoblotted. For U937 immunoprecipitations, 1 x 107 cells were lysed. Lysates were incubated with either anti-PU.1 or anti-tubulin antibody. Immunoprecipitates were then analyzed as described above for transfected 293T cells.
PUER Cell DifferentiationThe generation of PUER progenitor cells and their differentiation into macrophages and granulocytes have been described in detail (15, 27). Cells were maintained in Iscove's modified Eagle's medium, 10% fetal calf serum (HyClone), 1 unit/ml penicillin/streptomycin, 2 mM L-glutamine, and 50 µM
-mercaptoethanol. Medium contained either 5 ng/ml interleukin (IL)-3 (R&D Systems) or 10 ng/ml granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF; R&D Systems). Cells were differentiated by the addition of 100 nM hydroxytamoxifen (OHT) to the medium. For morphological analysis of PUER cells, 2.5 x 105 cells were cytocentrifuged onto glass slides, fixed for 30 s in methanol, and stained with Wright stain.
Isolation of Murine Hematopoietic ProgenitorsThe procedure was performed as described previously (14, 28) with minor modifications. Briefly, bone marrow cells were isolated from the tibias and femurs of 8-week-old mice. Mature erythroid cells were removed by ammonium chloride lysis. For hematopoietic colony assays, 2.5 x 104 nucleated bone marrow cells were plated onto methylcellulose medium containing hematopoietic cytokines (MethoCult GF M3434, StemCell Technologies Inc.). Colonies were counted after 7 days of incubation. For retroviral transduction, nucleated cells were lineage-depleted with a StemSep murine hematopoietic progenitor enrichment kit (StemCell Technologies Inc.) according to the manufacturer's instructions.
Retroviral TransductionRetroviral vectors (rv-GFP, rv-GFI-1, and rv-GFI-1P/A) were cotransfected into 293T cells together with the retroviral packaging vector pCL-Eco (Imgenex Corp.) by calcium phosphate precipitation. Forty-eight hours post-transfection, retroviral supernatants were harvested. PUER and primary progenitor cells were infected by resuspension in retroviral supernatant containing Polybrene (8 µg/ml) and centrifugation at 2000 x g for 2 h at 25 °C. PUER cells were recultured in fresh medium containing IL-3. Cell lines expressing high levels of GFP were obtained by limiting dilution cloning. Infected primary hematopoietic progenitors were expanded in the presence of IL-3, IL-6, and stem cell factor for 2 days and subsequently cultured for an additional 4 days in G-CSF.
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RNA AnalysisRNA was isolated from PUER and bone marrow cells using TRIzol (Invitrogen). One microgram of total cellular RNA was used in a 20-µl reverse transcriptase reaction (SuperScript III, Invitrogen). Two microliters of the reverse transcriptase reaction were used in a PCR with gene-specific primers. For real-time PCR, 1 µl of prepared cDNA was used in a 20-µl real-time PCR (TaqMan assay) using gene-specific probes obtained from Applied Biosystems. The results were normalized to the levels of
-actin expression, which was assayed in the same reaction tube. Samples were run in triplicate with a DNA Engine Opticon thermocycler (Bio-Rad). Northern blots were prepared with 15 µg of total RNA for each sample. Blots were sequentially probed with random hexamer-primed 32P-labeled cDNA encoding murine myeloperoxidase and
-tubulin.
Flow CytometrySingle cell suspensions were prepared and stained with monoclonal antibodies obtained from Pharmingen (Mac-3-fluorescein isothiocyanate) and Caltag (Gr-1-phycoerythrin, F4/80-phycoerythrin, and CD11b-biotin). Stained cells were analyzed on a dual-laser cell sorter (FACSCalibur, BD Biosciences). Cell preparations were preincubated with antibody to Fc
receptor II/III to reduce nonspecific antibody binding and were subjected to propidium iodide uptake to exclude dead cells from the analysis. Fluorescence-activated cell sorter (FACS) data were analyzed using FloJo software (TreeStar Inc.).
| RESULTS |
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transcription factor (3032). In transfected 293T cells, PU.1 transactivated the M-CSFR promoter construct by 14-fold compared with cells transfected with the reporter plasmid alone. However, if GFI-1 was cotransfected with PU.1, promoter activity was decreased to
5-fold (Fig. 1B). We did not observe a significant effect on transcription when the M-CSFR promoter construct and GFI-1 were cotransfected in the absence of PU.1. Additionally, GFI-1 did not significantly repress M-CSFR promoter activity induced by C/EBP
(Fig. 1C). Because there was a slight but reproducible transcriptional synergy between GFI-1 and C/EBP
, we tested whether GFI-1 represses M-CSFR promoter activated by both PU.1 and C/EBP
. When PU.1 and C/EBP
activated the M-CSFR promoter, transcription was still repressed by GFI-1 (Fig. 1D). This result indicates that C/EBP
does not abrogate GFI-1 repression of PU.1.
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. Interestingly, GFI-1 did not repress a fusion between Gal4 and the PU.1 transactivation domain (Fig. 2B). Because GFI-1 inhibited PU.1 activity when PU.1 was tethered to DNA via the Gal4 DNA-binding domain, we concluded that GFI-1 did not block PU.1 activity via inhibition of DNA binding (see also Fig. 4D). Because GFI-1 contains an N-terminal repression domain (SNAG domain), we tested whether this domain is necessary for antagonizing PU.1. Mutating the second amino acid of GFI-1 from proline to alanine abrogates its repression activity (33). When GFI-1P/A was analyzed for its ability to inhibit PU.1 activity, a significant decrease in repression activity compared with wild-type GFI-1 was observed (Fig. 2C). This result demonstrates that the GFI-1 SNAG domain is necessary for inhibiting PU.1 transactivation. The results from the Gal4 and M-CSFR reporter assays demonstrate that GFI-1 inhibits PU.1 activation of two independent promoters in vitro.
GFI-1 Associates with PU.1Results from the transient transfection assays suggested that GFI-1 represses transcription by directly binding to PU.1. To determine whether GFI-1 inhibition of PU.1 is mediated by protein-protein interaction, we performed co-immunoprecipitation assays. 293T cells were transfected with GFI-1 and/or PU.1 expression vector. Whole cells extracts were prepared and immunoprecipitated with either anti-PU.1 or anti-GFI-1 antibody. Immunoprecipitates were separated by SDS-PAGE and immunoblotted with anti-PU.1 or anti-GFI-1 antibody to assay for co-immunoprecipitation. PU.1 was detected in anti-GFI-1 antibody-immunoprecipitated complexes (Fig. 3A, upper panel, lane 2) obtained from cells coexpressing PU.1 and GFI-1. Some nonspecific precipitation of PU.1 occurred in the absence of PU.1 (lane 3); however, significantly more PU.1 was immunoprecipitated in the presence of GFI-1, indicating that these proteins interact in vivo. Similarly, when the same extracts were immunoprecipitated with anti-PU.1 antibody, GFI-1 was detected in the immunoprecipitated complexes in cells coexpressing PU.1 and GFI-1 (Fig. 3A, lower panel).
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The GFI-1 domain(s) required for mediating the interaction with PU.1 was identified by incubating in vitro translated PU.1 protein with GST fusions to GFI-1 deletion mutants (Fig. 3C). Consistent with the immunoprecipitation experiments, full-length GFI-1 associated with PU.1 in vitro. PU.1 also bound a fusion protein containing all six GFI-1 zinc fingers, but not a fusion protein containing the N-terminal portion of GFI-1 lacking all of the zinc fingers. This result suggested that the zinc fingers are necessary and sufficient to mediate GFI-1 binding to PU.1. To further narrow the region of GFI-1 required for binding to PU.1, we incubated PU.1 protein with a GST fusion to the region of GFI-1 containing Znf35 and with a fusion protein containing GFI-1 truncated after the second zinc finger (
Znf36). PU.1 did not bind to GST-GFI-1 deleted of its four C-terminal zinc fingers (
Znf36); however, it did bind to GST-GFI-1 containing only Znf35. Interestingly, these are the zinc fingers that are sufficient to mediate DNA binding (1).
To determine which PU.1 domain(s) interacts with GFI-1, in vitro translated PU.1 deletion mutants were incubated with GST-GFI-1. Deletion of the N terminus (
730), C terminus (
255272), or the PEST domain (
118160) did not affect PU.1 binding to GFI-1. However, deletion of the transactivation domain of PU.1 (
33100) or the PU.1 Ets domain (
201272) greatly diminished binding to GFI-1 (Fig. 3D). Our results demonstrate that both the transactivation and Ets domains are required for PU.1 to efficiently associate with the zinc finger DNA-binding domain of GFI-1.
PU.1-dependent Macrophage Differentiation Is Blocked by GFI-1We next determined whether GFI-1 has effects on the biological activity of PU.1 by expressing GFI-1 in a PU.1-/- cell line expressing a conditional version of PU.1 (PUER) (27). When the PUER protein is activated by OHT, the conditional PU.1 protein induces differentiation of the myeloid progenitor cell line into macrophages and granulocytes depending on the growth conditions (15). To test what effect GFI-1 has on PU.1-induced differentiation, PUER cells were superinfected with rv-GFI-1 internal ribosome entry site (rv-GFI-1)-GFP or control rv-GFP only. Clonal cell lines were generated by limiting dilution.
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Because GFI-1 represses M-CSFR promoter activity in vitro, we further examined expression of M-CSFR protein. In GFP-infected cells, M-CSFR was detected by immunoblotting after 4 days of differentiation. However, M-CSFR was barely detected in GFI-1-infected cells after 8 days of differentiation, consistent with the previous in vitro results (Fig. 4C). We also determined whether GFI-1 affects PU.1 binding to the endogenous M-CSFR promoter. GFI-1 did not block PU.1 association with the M-CSFR promoter, as ChIP demonstrated that PU.1 associated with the promoter in the presence or absence of GFI-1 (Fig. 4D). Finally, we examined whether GFI-1 directly associates with the M-CSFR promoter. Using ChIP, we detected the M-CSFR promoter co-immunoprecipitating with GFI-1 in PUER-GFI-1 cells induced to differentiate with OHT (Fig. 4E). As expected, OHT-treated PUER-GFP cells, which do not express detectable levels of GFI-1 protein, did not precipitate the M-CSFR promoter with anti-GFI-1 antibody. ChIP assays with untreated PUER-GFP or PUER-GFI-1 cells did not consistently immunoprecipitate M-CSFR above background levels (immunoprecipitations with normal rabbit serum). To show that precipitation of the M-CSFR promoter by anti-PU.1 and anti-GFI-1 antibodies is specific, we tried to amplify the glutamate receptor-2 promoter as a nonspecific control from our immunoprecipitations and could not detect it in any of our samples (supplemental Fig. S1C).
The expression of several myeloid genes was examined in PUER-GFP and PUER-GFI-1 cells by reverse transcription (RT)-PCR (Fig. 4F). These genes are direct transcriptional targets of PU.1: CD64, M-CSFR, CD11b, and c-fes (22, 25, 34, 35). GFI-1 efficiently repressed the expression of the CD64 and M-CSFR genes, which are expressed preferentially in macrophages. In contrast, GFI-1 barely repressed the expression of the CD11b and c-fes genes, which are transcribed in both granulocytes and macrophages. The expression levels of the CD11b and M-CSFR genes were confirmed by real-time RT-PCR analysis (supplemental Fig. S1D). These results suggest that GFI-1 preferentially represses PU.1 macrophage target genes, but not PU.1 targets expressed in both macrophages and granulocytes. Interestingly, the PU.1 target genes c-fes (25) and CD11b (35) were abundantly expressed in the absence of OHT. The CD11b gene has been observed previously in untreated PUER cells (without OHT) because of slight leakiness of the PUER protein (27). When CD11b and c-fes gene expression was examined 24 h post-OHT treatment, we observed a slight induction of both genes above levels detected in untreated cells (data not shown). However, the induction was not greatly affected by GFI-1 expression (data not shown).
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Infection of Primary Murine Bone Marrow Progenitors with rv-GFI-1 Promotes Granulocyte DifferentiationBone marrow was harvested from 810-week-old wild-type mice. Nucleated bone marrow cells were depleted of lineage-positive cells (CD5, CD11b, Gr-1, B220, and Terr119) and infected for 2 days with rv-GFI-1 in the presence of the cytokines IL-3, IL-6, and stem cell factor. Cells were grown for an additional 4 days in G-CSF before being analyzed for differentiation by flow cytometry (Fig. 6). We have shown previously that cultured bone marrow cells expressing cell surface CD11b and F4/80 are macrophages and that cells expressing CD11b and Gr-1 are granulocytes (15).
When we gated on cells expressing no or low levels of GFP (corresponding to low levels of GFI-1 because the two protein are expressed from the same mRNA),
60% of the cells were granulocytes, and 40% of the cells were macrophages as determined by CD11b and Gr-1 staining (Fig. 6A, upper panels). However, if we gated on the high GFP population (high GFI-1 levels), 80% of the cells were granulocytes, and only 20% were macrophages. Similar results were obtained by evaluating differentiation with CD11b and F4/80 staining (Fig. 6A, lower panels). Because we observed an increased percentage of the CD11b+ cell population becoming Gr-1+ in the high GFP fraction, we conclude that GFI-1 increases granulocyte differentiation at the expense of the macrophage population. Results shown are representative of three independent infections.
This increase in granulocyte differentiation requires an active SNAG repression domain, as the inactivating GFI-1P/A mutant (33) did not increase granulocyte differentiation. Interestingly, the GFI-1P/A mutant induced a mixed lineage phenotype with
90% of the infected cells (high GFP) coexpressing Gr-1 and F4/80 (Fig. 6B). This result is consistent with knock-in studies showing that when the Pro-to-Ala mutant is knocked into the Gfi-1 locus, it phenocopies the null mutant animals (36). Finally, no differences in myeloid differentiation were observed between low and high GFP populations of bone marrow progenitors infected with control rv-GFP (data not shown).
PU.1 Heterozygosity Decreases the Mixed Lineage Phenotype of GFI-1-/- Hematopoietic CellsTo determine whether antagonism of PU.1 activity by GFI-1 has functional consequences in vivo, we interbred mutant PU.1 and Gfi-1 mice. We performed hematopoietic colony assays with bone marrow obtained from wild-type, Gfi-1-/-, and Gfi-1-/-PU.1+/- mice. We observed a significant increase in colony-forming unit-macrophage (CFU-M; p < 0.05) and colony-forming unit-granulocyte (CFU-G; p < 0.02) colonies obtained from Gfi-1-/- bone marrow compared with wild-type bone marrow. The Gfi-1-/- and Gfi-1-/-PU.1+/- CFU-G colonies did not contain mature cells, as RT-PCR with colony RNA did not detect expression of either neutrophil gelatinase or lactoferrin (data not shown). Similar to our previous studies with Csf3-deficient mice (15), PU.1 heterozygosity resulted in increased CFU-G colonies compared with CFU-M colonies when expressed on a neutropenic background (Csf3-/- or Gfi-1-/-) (Fig. 7A).
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Finally, Hock et al. (10) observed that GFI-1 mice exhibit increased numbers of mixed lineage Mac-3+Gr-1+ cells in their bone marrow. Using flow cytometry, we examined wild-type, Gfi-1-/-, and Gfi-1-/-PU.1+/- bone marrow for the presence of these cells. In four independent experiments, we always observed a decrease in Mac-3+Gr-1+ cells in the Gfi-1-/-PU.1+/- bone marrow compared with bone marrow isolated from Gfi-1 mutants. Representative FACS plots from one experiment are shown (Fig. 7C). These results demonstrate that decreased PU.1 gene dosage lowers the overexpression of macrophage genes in the Gfi-1 mutant and reduces the number of mixed lineage cells. This supports the conclusion that an important function for GFI-1 in myelopoiesis is to antagonize PU.1.
| DISCUSSION |
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These results suggest that GFI-1 may be important in the granulocyte-macrophage progenitor decision to become a macrophage or granulocyte by antagonizing PU.1 activity similar to what we hypothesized previously for C/EBP
(15). However, in the absence of GFI-1, hematopoietic cells commit to the granulocyte cell fate as CFU-G progenitors are generated in the bone marrow, as shown by our hematopoietic colony assays (Fig. 7A). Notably, we did not observe a significant change in the ratio of CFU-G to CFU-M progenitors between wild-type and mutant GFI-1 animals. We observed an increase in the total number of both CFU-G and CFU-M colonies, which is likely due to the increased percentage of granulocyte-macrophage progenitor cells in the bone marrow of Gfi-1-/- mice (6). If GFI-1 played a role in the granulocyte-macrophage cell fate decision, one would expect that its deletion would result in an increase in CFU-M progenitors relative to CFU-G progenitors. The retroviral expression results may be due to an effect of GFI-1 being misexpressed in common myeloid progenitors. Annexin V staining did not show that GFI-1 expression induced apoptosis of macrophage progenitors (data not shown).
We did not demonstrate a role for GFI-1 in directing cell fate decisions by repressing PU.1. However, we suggest that GFI-1 "locks in" the granulocyte cell fate by repressing macrophage genes regulated by PU.1. This is demonstrated by the reduction in M-CSFR expression when the PU.1 gene dosage was reduced in a Gfi-1-null background, but the expression of the pan-myeloid PU.1 target gene CD11b was unaffected. Additionally, it was shown previously that Mac-3+Gr-1+ mixed lineage cells are increased in mutant Gfi-1 bone marrow (10), and we showed that there is a reduction in this cell population in Gfi-1-/-PU.1+/- animals (Fig. 7C).
Interestingly, GFI-1 efficiently repressed PU.1 macrophage-specific target genes (M-CSFR and CD64), but not targets that are expressed in both macrophages and granulocytes (CD11b and c-fes). It is unclear how GFI-1 discriminates between repressing PU.1 macrophage-specific target genes and PU.1 targets expressed in all myeloid cells (Fig. 4F). However, one difference we observed in the expression of these two sets of genes is that PU.1 targets expressed in both macrophages and granulocytes require only low levels of PU.1 for their expression. Low PU.1 activity present in the PUER cell line in the absence of OHT is enough to induce their expression, whereas it is not enough to activate the expression of the macrophage-specific target genes M-CSFR and CD64. This suggests that PU.1 regulation of pan-myeloid and granulocyte-specific genes is mechanistically distinct from PU.1 regulation of macrophage-specific genes. Optimal regulation of the macrophage-specific genes M-CSFR and macrosialin requires the transcription factor c-Jun as a cofactor for PU.1 (38, 39). In granulocytes, c-Jun expression decreases during granulocyte differentiation, suggesting that its role as a PU.1 cofactor is less important in granulocytes (40). We are currently investigating whether the requirement for c-Jun as a PU.1 coactivator confers specificity for GFI-1 repression of PU.1 target gene subsets.
Targeted mutations in mice and naturally occurring mutations isolated from human neutropenic patients demonstrate that GFI-1 is essential for granulocyte development (911). Therefore, an understanding of how GFI-1 functions in granulocyte differentiation is important for the design of future targeted therapies for granulocyte disorders. Here, we have shown that GFI-1 binds PU.1, repressing its ability to activate transcription. Genetic data from interbreeding PU.1 and Gfi-1 mutants demonstrate that this interaction is important in vivo. The data support a conclusion that a critical function of GFI-1 is to repress PU.1-regulated macrophage-specific genes for proper granulocyte development.
| FOOTNOTES |
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The on-line version of this article (available at http://www.jbc.org) contains supplemental Figs. S1 and S2. ![]()
2 Supported in part by Institutional National Research Service Award T32HL076595 from the National Institutes of Health. ![]()
3 Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. ![]()
1 To whom correspondence should be addressed: Cancer Research Facility, University of New Mexico, 915 Camino de Salud, CRF 117, Albuquerque, NM 87131. Tel.: 505-272-5583; Fax: 505-272-2841; E-mail: RDahl{at}salud.unm.edu.
4 The abbreviations used are: M-CSFR, macrophage colony-stimulating factor receptor; C/EBP
, CCAAT/enhancer binding protein-
; rv, retroviral; GFP, green fluorescent protein; GST, glutathione S-transferase; Znf, zinc finger; IL, interleukin; G-CSF, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor; OHT, hydroxytamoxifen; ChIP, chromatin immunoprecipitation; FACS, fluorescence-activated cell sorter; RT, reverse transcription; CFU-M, colony-forming unit-macrophage; CFU-G, colony-forming unit-granulocyte. ![]()
5 R. Dahl, S. R. Iyer, K. S. Owens, D. D. Cuylear, and M. C. Simon, unpublished data. ![]()
| ACKNOWLEDGMENTS |
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