Forced expression of the Wilms tumor 1 (WT1) gene inhibits proliferation of human hematopoietic CD34(+) progenitor cells
Author
Summary, in English
The Wilms tumor gene (WT1) encodes a zinc-finger containing transcription factor present in primitive hematopoietic progenitor cells. WT1 is also highly expressed in most cases of acute myeloid leukemia. Moreover, WT1 can interfere with induced differentiation of leukemic cell lines. These data suggest a function of WT1 in the maintenance of a primitive phenotype and a role in leukemogenesis by interfering with differentiation, prompting us to investigate its function in human hematopoietic progenitor cells. By retroviral transfer, human CD34(+) cord blood progenitor cells were transduced with a vector encoding either of two splicing variants of WT1, with or without the KTS insert in the zinc-finger domain, linked to expression of green fluorescent protein (GFP) via an internal ribosomal entry site. When compared to cells transduced with vector containing GFP only, WT1 expressing cells showed strongly reduced colony formation in methylcellulose and inhibited proliferation in suspension culture, with no apparent reduction in viability. Cell cycle phase distribution was not affected by WT1 expression. No signs of impaired differentiation, as judged by the surface markers CD11b, CD14 and glycophorin were detected. In contrast to the results with human CD34(+) progenitor cells, the proliferation of murine bone marrow cells was not significantly affected by WT1, consistent with previous data. We conclude that forced expression of WT1 in highly enriched human hematopoietic progenitor cells leads to strong anti-proliferative effects but is compatible with induced maturation of these cells.
Department/s
Publishing year
2001
Language
English
Pages
1914-1922
Publication/Series
Leukemia
Volume
15
Issue
12
Links
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
Topic
- Cancer and Oncology
Keywords
- WT1
- Wilms
- leukemia
- differentiation
- hematopoiesis
- CD34
Status
Published
Research group
- Transcriptional mechanisms for the Wilms’ tumor gene 1 (WT1) oncoprotein
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 1476-5551