Gene expression analysis of hematopoietic progenitor cells identifies Dlg7 as a potential stem cell gene.

Pubmed ID: 17322106

Journal: Stem cells (Dayton, Ohio)

Publication Date: June 1, 2007

Affiliation: Cancer and Developmental Biology Laboratory, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute-Frederick, Maryland, USA. orri@ncifcrf.gov

MeSH Terms: Humans, Cells, Cultured, Cell Differentiation, Hematopoietic Stem Cells, Cell Survival, Dendritic Cells, Gene Expression Profiling, Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis, Transfection, Antigens, CD34, Blood Cells, Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplasm Proteins, Umbilical Cord, ADP-ribosyl Cyclase 1

Grants: N01-CO12400

Authors: Gudmundsson KO, Thorsteinsson L, Sigurjonsson OE, Keller JR, Olafsson K, Egeland T, Gudmundsson S, Rafnar T

Cite As: Gudmundsson KO, Thorsteinsson L, Sigurjonsson OE, Keller JR, Olafsson K, Egeland T, Gudmundsson S, Rafnar T. Gene expression analysis of hematopoietic progenitor cells identifies Dlg7 as a potential stem cell gene. Stem Cells 2007 Jun;25(6):1498-506. Epub 2007 Feb 22.

Studies:

Abstract

Inducible hematopoietic stem/progenitor cell lines represent a model for studying genes involved in self-renewal and differentiation. Here, gene expression was studied in the inducible human CD34+ acute myelogenous leukemia cell line KG1 using oligonucleotide arrays and suppression subtractive cloning. Using this approach, we identified Dlg7, the homolog of the Drosophila Dlg1 tumor suppressor gene, as downregulated at the early stages of KG1 differentiation. Similarly, Dlg7 was expressed in normal purified umbilical cord blood CD34+CD38- progenitors but not in the more committed CD34+CD38+ population. Dlg7 expression was not detected in differentiated cells obtained from hematopoietic colonies, nor was expression detected in purified T-cells, B-cells, and monocytes. When analyzed in different types of stem cells, Dlg7 expression was detected in purified human bone marrow-derived CD133+ progenitor cells, human mesenchymal stem cells, and mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells. Overexpression of Dlg7 in mouse ES cells increased their growth rate and reduced the number of EBs emerging upon differentiation. In addition, the EBs were significantly smaller, indicating an inhibition in differentiation. This inhibition was further supported by higher expression of Bmp4, Oct4, Rex1, and Nanog in EBs overexpressing Dlg7 and lower expression of Brachyury. Finally, the Dlg7 protein was detected in liver and colon carcinoma tumors but not in normal adjacent tissues, suggesting a role for the gene in carcinogenesis. In conclusion, our results suggest that Dlg7 has a role in stem cell survival, in maintaining stem cell properties, and in carcinogenesis. Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest is found at the end of this article.