Cited by 123Hematopoietic Stem Cell TransplantationMicroRNA in disease regulationDevelopmental Biology and Gene Regulation

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 55 of the 55 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; 11 of the 46 sources its claims cite were checked for support.

Macrophage development from HSCs requires PU.1-coordinated microRNA expression

Open access

Abstract

The differentiation of HSCs into myeloid lineages requires the transcription factor PU.1. Whereas PU.1-dependent induction of myeloid-specific target genes has been intensively studied, negative regulation of stem cell or alternate lineage programs remains incompletely characterized. To test for such negative regulatory events, we searched for PU.1-controlled microRNAs (miRs) by expression profiling using a PU.1-inducible myeloid progenitor cell line model. We provide evidence that PU.1 directly controls expression of at least 4 of these miRs (miR-146a, miR-342, miR-338, and miR-155) through temporally dynamic occupation of binding sites within regulatory chromatin regions adjacent to their genomic coding loci. Ectopic expression of the most robustly induced PU.1 target miR, miR-146a, directed the selective differentiation of HSCs into functional peritoneal macrophages in mouse transplantation assays. In agreement with this observation, disruption of Dicer expression or specific antagonization of miR-146a function inhibited the formation of macrophages during early zebrafish (Danio rerio) development. In the present study, we describe a PU.1-orchestrated miR program that mediates key functions of PU.1 during myeloid differentiation.

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

PU.1 directly coordinates a microRNA program during myeloid differentiation, including miR-146a, miR-342, miR-338, and miR-155. Ectopic miR-146a selectively drives HSC-derived peritoneal macrophages in mice, and miR-146a loss impairs macrophage development in zebrafish.

Key findings

  • PU.1 induction in PUER cells changed 10 miRs upward and 10 downward; among up-regulated miRs, miR-146a increased 29.55-fold, miR-342 23.09-fold, miR-155 2.95-fold, and miR-338 2.08-fold.
  • PU.1 occupied open chromatin near miR-146a, miR-342, miR-338, and miR-155; miR-146a, miR-342, and miR-338 showed sustained induction, whereas miR-155 was transient.
  • Ectopic miR-146a expression in FACS-purified HSCs produced GFP-high donor cells exclusively in the peritoneum, with monocyte/macrophage markers CD11b, F4/80, CD115, and MHC-II and phagocytic activity; no such cells were detected in blood, spleen, BM, brain, liver, or lung.
  • In zebrafish, MZdicer+430 embryos had profoundly reduced L-plastin+ macrophages, and miR-146a knockdown caused a selective loss of myeloid but not erythroid cells.

Methods

  • PU.1-inducible PUER myeloid progenitor cells and PU.1 KO controls were profiled for 189 miRs by real-time PCR; differentially expressed miRs were identified by SAM with ≥2-fold up or ≤0.75-fold down and q<5%.
  • PU.1 binding was mapped by ChIP-seq and DNase hypersensitivity in PUER cells and primary macrophages; miR-146a regulation was tested by luciferase reporter assays with wild-type or mutated PU.1-binding motif and by PU.1 shRNA in RAW264.7 cells.
  • Adult HSC function was tested by transplanting GFP-tagged miR-146a- or control-transduced LSK cells into irradiated SJL CD45.1 recipients; zebrafish experiments used Dicer mutants, antisense oligonucleotide knockdown, whole-mount in situ hybridization for L-plastin, and FACS.

Limitations

  • The paper states that the molecular mechanism by which miR-146a drives peritoneal macrophage differentiation “is still unclear,” and that enhanced phagocytosis observed in miR-146a-induced monocytes “will require further investigation.”
  • The paper notes that macrophages express more miR-146a than granulocytes despite comparable PU.1 levels, suggesting “as-yet-unknown additional regulatory factors” in macrophages.
  • Evident from the text: the adult in vivo gain-of-function result is restricted to peritoneal macrophages, and the zebrafish miR-146a loss-of-function uses antisense knockdown rather than a genetic miR-146a mutant.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1182/blood-2011-02-335141

Cites

55 of 55 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Verification

Claims the paper makes

50 Own result · 28 Own interpretation · 13 No full text of the sources · 8 Not checked yet · 3 Partly supported · 2 Supported so far · 2 No basis given · 1 Mixed support · accuracy not yet measured

Verify all 10 references — free account

Show all 60 claims

  • Probably not a substantial claim. 18
  • It may state two separate claims as one. 38
47 of 47
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Macrophage development in zebrafish begins at 18 hpf in the yolk sac and distributes macrophages during the first wave of primitive hematopoiesis through the blood circulation and migration into the mesenchyme of the head.

    “macrophage development occurs from 18 hpf in the yolk sac and distributes macrophages during the first wave of primitive hematopoiesis through the blood circulation and migration into the mesenchyme of the head.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Supplementation of MZdicer KO embryos with mature miR-430 rescues early development without restoring macrophage development, so miR-430 does not itself promote macrophage emergence.

    “Therefore, we examined macrophage development in the MZdicer ϩ430 mutants at 24-30 hpf by whole-mount in situ hybridization against macrophage-specific L-plastin”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The antisense oligonucleotides used for miR-146a knockdown specifically reduce miR-146a activity without affecting other microRNAs or genes.

    “Microinjection of 2 different antisense oligonucleotides (one targeting the stem loop and another the drosha cleavage region) into zebrafish eggs resulted in a massive reduction in L-plastin ϩ macrophage numbers (Figure 6B-C).”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    PU.1 binding to genomic regions indicates direct transcriptional regulation.

    “Using global PU.1-binding data in combination with genomewide DNase HSS maps, we found that 4 of the PU.1 up-regulated miRs (miR-146a, miR-342, miR-338, and miR-155) harbored PU.1-binding peaks within open chromatin regions in their direct genomic vicinity.”
4 of 4

Citations

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Metadata

Authors
Ghani, S., Riemke, P., Schönheit, J., Lenze, D., Stumm, J., Hoogenkamp, M., Lagendijk, A., Heinz, S., Bonifer, C., Bakkers, J., Abdelilah-Seyfried, S., Hummel, M., & Rosenbauer, F.
Affiliations
  • Max Delbrück Center (DE)
  • Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (DE)
  • University of Leeds (GB)
  • Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (NL)
  • University of California San Diego (US)
  • Max-Delbrück-Center for Molecular Medicine, Berlin, Germany;
Venue
Blood
Published
2011-08-25
Volume
118
Issue
8
Pages
2275-2284
ISSN
  • 0006-4971 (ISSN-L)
  • 1528-0020
OpenAlex
W1997338207
Cited by
123
References
53
Citations by year
2026: 6 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 10 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 11 · 2013: 28 · 2012: 11
FWCI
10.75
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Blood (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • KNAW Research Portal (The Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • Data Archiving and Networked Services (DANS) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • MDC Repository (Max-Delbrueck-Center for Molecular Medicine) (submittedVersion)
  • University of Birmingham Research Portal (University of Birmingham) (submittedVersion)
  • KNAW research portal (Royal Academy of Art and Sciences (KNAW)) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • University of Groningen research database (University of Groningen / Centre for Information Technology) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Hematology › Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cancer Research › MicroRNA in disease regulation
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Developmental Biology and Gene Regulation
Keywords
PU.1, microRNA, hematopoietic stem cells, macrophage differentiation, myeloid differentiation, miR-146a, miR-155, miR-342, miR-338, Dicer, transcriptional regulation, peritoneal macrophages, zebrafish development, chromatin binding sites
MeSH terms
Proto-Oncogene Protein Spi-1, Animals, Cell Differentiation, Cell Line, Hematopoietic Stem Cells, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Proto-Oncogene Proteins, Zebrafish, Trans-Activators, Macrophages, Peritoneal, Cell Lineage, RNA, Small Interfering, MicroRNAs, Myelopoiesis, Mice, In Vitro Techniques

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