A genetic disorder reveals a hematopoietic stem cell regulatory network co-opted in leukemia
The molecular regulation of human hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) maintenance is therapeutically important, but limitations in experimental systems and interspecies variation have constrained our knowledge of this process. Here, we have studied a rare genetic disorder due to MECOM haploinsufficiency,...
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Published in | Nature immunology Vol. 24; no. 1; pp. 69 - 83 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
New York
Nature Publishing Group US
01.01.2023
Nature Publishing Group |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | The molecular regulation of human hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) maintenance is therapeutically important, but limitations in experimental systems and interspecies variation have constrained our knowledge of this process. Here, we have studied a rare genetic disorder due to
MECOM
haploinsufficiency, characterized by an early-onset absence of HSCs in vivo. By generating a faithful model of this disorder in primary human HSCs and coupling functional studies with integrative single-cell genomic analyses, we uncover a key transcriptional network involving hundreds of genes that is required for HSC maintenance. Through our analyses, we nominate cooperating transcriptional regulators and identify how MECOM prevents the CTCF-dependent genome reorganization that occurs as HSCs differentiate. We show that this transcriptional network is co-opted in high-risk leukemias, thereby enabling these cancers to acquire stem cell properties. Collectively, we illuminate a regulatory network necessary for HSC self-renewal through the study of a rare experiment of nature.
Modeling a rare bone marrow failure disorder due to haploinsufficiency for the MECOM transcription factor identifies a human hematopoietic stem cell regulatory network, which is co-opted by high-risk leukemias. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 1529-2908 1529-2916 1529-2916 |
DOI: | 10.1038/s41590-022-01370-4 |