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EVI1 Impairs Myelopoiesis by Deregulation of PU.1 Function

¹ Department of Medicine, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois and ² Department of Hematology, Federico II University, Naples, Italy

Requests for reprints: Leopoldo Laricchia-Robbio, University of Illinois at Chicago (M/C 737), 909 South Wolcott Avenue, Chicago, IL 60612. Phone: 312-413-8836; Fax: 312-413-0548; E-mail: robbiol{at}uic.edu.

Key Words: MDS • EVI1 • myeloid differentiation • PU.1

EVI1 is an oncogene inappropriately expressed in the bone marrow (BM) of 10% of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) patients. This disease is characterized by severe anemia and multilineage myeloid dysplasia that are thought to be a major cause of mortality in MDS patients. We earlier reported on a mouse model that constitutive expression of EVI1 in the BM led to fatal anemia and myeloid dysplasia, as observed in MDS patients, and we subsequently showed that EVI1 interaction with GATA1 blocks proper erythropoiesis. Whereas this interaction could provide the basis for the erythroid defects in EVI1-positive MDS, it does not explain the alteration of myeloid differentiation. Here, we have examined the expression of several genes activated during terminal myelopoiesis in BM cells and identified a group of them that are altered by EVI1. A common feature of these genes is their regulation by the transcription factor PU.1. We report here that EVI1 interacts with PU.1 and represses the PU.1-dependent activation of a myeloid promoter. EVI1 does not seem to inhibit PU.1 binding to DNA, but rather to block its association with the coactivator c-Jun. After mapping the PU.1-EVI1 interaction sites, we show that an EVI1 point mutant, unable to bind PU.1, restores the activation of PU.1-regulated genes and allows a normal differentiation of BM progenitors in vitro. [Cancer Res 2009;69(4):1633–42]