ALBERT

Description: Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is a clonal myeloproliferative disease (MPD) initiated by p210-BCR-ABL–mediated transformation of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). Inhibition of the ABL kinase alone is not sufficient to eradicate leukemic stem cells (LSCs). We have previously shown that the deficiency of Rac2 GTPase signaling, but not Rac1, in p210-BCR-ABL–transduced hematopoietic cells prolonged survival of mice with MPD. Here we demonstrate that absence of Rac2 GTPase prolongs survival of HSC-initiated, inducible Scl/p210-BCR-ABL (Scl/p210) binary transgenic mice, it induces apoptosis, and, unlike in normal HSC and progenitor (HSC/P), impairs LSC and progenitor (LSC/P) proliferation in vivo. As a result, Rac2 deficiency causes functional exhaustion of the LSC pool in vivo. This defect is not due to impaired interaction with the hematopoietic microenvironment as reflected by its unaltered adhesion, migration, and homing to recipient organs. In summary, Rac2 deficiency exhausts the LSC pool in vivo through impairment of oncogene-induced proliferation and survival signals.

Description: Abstract 4421 Factor VIIa (fVIIa) is one of the key proteins in the blood coagulation cascade. It activates factors IX and × on a negatively charged phospholipid surface in either a TF-dependent or TF-independent fashion (Silverberg et al, 1977; Bom et al, 1990). Monroe et al (1997) demonstrated that fVIIa binds to activated platelets independent of TF and partially restores thrombin generation in an in vitro model of hemophilia. Thus, it appears that interaction of fVIIa with platelet phospholipids plays an important role. We report that binding of 1,2-dihexanoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospholipids -L-serine (C6PS) and 1,2-dihexanoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphoethanolamine (C6PE) to fVIIa causes changes in its activity as well as structure. Titration with C6PS led to changes in intrinsic fluorescence indicative of two or more binding sites for this lipid. Similar titrations with C6PE indicated that it probably binds to a single site on the protein. Experiments are underway to test this initial conclusion. Both lipids bind with comparable affinity (kd ~ 165 and 160 μ M) when data were analyzed using a single site model. We also examined the effect of the soluble lipids on the activity of fVIIa. Both C6PS and C6PE binding increased fVIIa proteolytic and amidolytic activity, with the effect of C6PS being more pronounced. Based on current data, it appears that both lipids bind to a single weak site, but that binding of either to this site promotes binding of C6PS to a second, tighter, and C6PS-specific site, which seems to be crucial in regulating activity. Further experiments are underway to test this hypothesis. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Description: Abstract 1543 A growing body of evidence highlights the importance of microRNAs in regulating the expression of mediators of cell cycle progression. A theme emerging from these studies is that microRNAs participate in feedback or feed-forward circuits to provide bistability for key transition points in the cell cycle. We previously have shown that proper regulation of cyclin E activity is required for normal erythroid cell maturation in vivo, using cyclin ET74AüT393A knock-in mice, which have markedly dysregulated cyclin E due to its failure to interact with the Fbw7 ubiquitin ligase complex. We hypothesized that we could identify novel, microRNA-based molecular circuitry for maintaining appropriate levels of cyclin E activity by screening cyclin E knock-in erythroblasts for alterations in microRNA expression. We analyzed data we obtained from multiplex real-time PCR arrays comparing the expression of over 500 microRNAs in cyclin ET74A T393A knock-in versus wild-type erythroblasts (Ter119+/CD71+) and found down-regulated expression of a number of microRNAs targeting CDK inhibitors. We also identified down-regulated expression of potential microRNA regulators of Fbw7 expression. We found that overexpression of miR-223, in particular, significantly reduces Fbw7 mRNA levels, increases endogenous cyclin E protein and activity levels, and increases genomic instability. We next confirmed that miR-223 targets the Fbw7 3’ untranslated region. We then found that reduced miR-223 expression leads to increased Fbw7 expression and decreased cyclin E activity. Finally, we found that miR-223 expression in K562 cells is responsive to acute alterations in cyclin E regulation by the Fbw7 pathway and that dysregulated Fbw7 expression alters the erythroid differentiation capacity of these cells. Mir-223 plays an important role in myeloid and erythroid differentiation by regulating multiple substrates involved in these maturation programs. Here, we identify Fbw7 as a novel target of miR-223. Our data also indicate that miR-223 modulates Fbw7 expression as part of a homeostatic mechanism to regulate cyclin E activity and provide the first evidence that activity of the SCFFbw7 ubiquitin ligase can be controlled by the microRNA pathway. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.