MicroRNA-mediated control of cell fate in megakaryocyte-erythrocyte progenitors.

Dev Cell
Authors
Keywords
Abstract

Lineage specification is a critical issue in developmental and regenerative biology. We hypothesized that microRNAs (miRNAs) are important participants in those processes and used the poorly understood regulation of megakaryocyte-erythrocyte progenitors (MEPs) in hematopoiesis as a model system. We report here that miR-150 modulates lineage fate in MEPs. Using a novel methodology capable of profiling miRNA expression in small numbers of primary cells, we identify miR-150 as preferentially expressed in the megakaryocytic lineage. Through gain- and loss-of-function experiments, we demonstrate that miR-150 drives MEP differentiation toward megakaryocytes at the expense of erythroid cells in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, we identify the transcription factor MYB as a critical target of miR-150 in this regulation. These experiments show that miR-150 regulates MEP fate, and thus establish a role for miRNAs in lineage specification of mammalian multipotent cells.

Year of Publication
2008
Journal
Dev Cell
Volume
14
Issue
6
Pages
843-53
Date Published
2008 Jun
ISSN
1878-1551
URL
DOI
10.1016/j.devcel.2008.03.012
PubMed ID
18539114
PubMed Central ID
PMC2688789
Links
Grant list
Howard Hughes Medical Institute / United States