E2a/Pbx1 oncogene inhibits terminal differentiation but not myeloid potential of pro-T cells.

E2a/Pbx1 is a fusion oncoprotein resulting from the t(1;19) translocation found in human pre-B acute lymphocytic leukemia and in a small number of acute T-lymphoid and myeloid leukemias. It was previously suggested that E2a/Pbx1 could cooperate with normal or oncogenic signaling pathways to immortalize myeloid and lymphoid progenitor cells. To address this question, we introduced the receptor of the macrophage-colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF-R) in pro-T cells immortalized by a conditional, estradiol-dependent, E2a/Pbx1-protein, and continuously proliferating in response to stem cell factor and interleukin-7. We asked whether M-CSF-R would be functional in an early T progenitor cell and influence the fate of E2a/Pbx1-immortalized cells. E2a-Pbx1 immortalized pro-T cells could proliferate and shifted from lymphoid to myeloid lineage after signaling through exogenously expressed M-CSF-R, irrespective of the presence of estradiol. However, terminal macrophage differentiation of the cells was obtained only when estradiol was withdrawn from cultures. This demonstrated that M-CSF-R is functional for proliferation and differentiation signaling in a T-lymphoid progenitor cell, which, in addition, unveiled myeloid potential of pro-T progenitors. Moreover, the block of differentiation induced by the E2a/Pbx1 oncogene could be modulated by hematopoietic cytokines such as M-CSF, suggesting plasticity of leukemic progenitor cells. Finally, additional experiments suggested that PU.1 and eight twenty-one transcriptional regulators might be implicated in the mechanisms of oncogenesis by E2a/Pbx1.

Genomic organization and restricted expression of the human Mona/Gads gene suggests regulation by two specific promoters.

Monocytic adaptor (Mona) also known as Gads is a Grb2-related adaptor whose expression is restricted to hematopoietic cells. It plays an important role in intracellular signaling in T cells, monocytic cells, and platelets. Here we investigated the regulatory aspects of Mona expression in human hematopoietic cells. This was carried out by combining nucleotide sequence analyzes and experimental approaches. We confirmed that Mona expression is restricted to T-cell, myeloid and platelet lineages. In the various cells examined, we detected two major Mona transcripts (1.9 and 4 kb), likely resulting from the alternative use of two polyadenylation sites. Consequently, Mona transcripts of the same size have identical 3' untranslated region (UTR), irrespective of the cell type. In contrast, Mona transcripts contain either 5' UTR-1A or -1B exons, that were detected in a cell-lineage specific manner. Thus, T cells and several myeloid cell lines express 5' UTR-1A-containing transcripts, whereas platelets and cell lines exhibiting megakaryocytic potential express 5' UTR-1B-containing transcripts. Interestingly, 5' UTR-1A is generated from an exon located approximately 45 kb upstream of exon 1B. This suggested that lineage-restricted transcription of the Mona gene is controlled by specific promoters. Indeed, 2-kb genomic fragments upstream of each 5'-UTR showed lineage-restricted ability to drive expression of luc reporter gene.

Suppressor of cytokine signaling 1 interacts with the macrophage colony-stimulating factor receptor and negatively regulates its proliferation signal.

Macrophage colony-stimulating factor receptor (M-CSF-R) is a tyrosine kinase that regulates proliferation, differentiation, and cell survival during monocytic lineage development. Upon activation, M-CSF-R dimerizes and autophosphorylates on specific tyrosines, creating binding sites for several cytoplasmic SH2-containing signaling molecules that relay and modulate the M-CSF signal. Here we show that M-CSF-R interacts with suppressor of cytokine signaling 1 (Socs1), a negative regulator of various cytokine and growth factor signaling pathways. Using the yeast two-hybrid system, in vitro glutathione S-transferase-M-CSF-R pull-down, and in vivo coimmunoprecipitation experiments, we demonstrated a direct interaction between the SH2 domain of Socs1 and phosphorylated tyrosines 697 or 721 of the M-CSF-R kinase insert region. Moreover, Socs1 is tyrosine-phosphorylated in response to M-CSF. Ectopic expression of Socs1 in FDC-P1/MAC and EML hematopoietic cell lines decreased their growth rates in the presence of limiting concentrations of M-CSF. However, Socs1 expression did not totally suppress long term cell growth in the presence of saturating M-CSF concentrations, in contrast to other cytokines such as stem cell factor and interleukin 3. Taken together, these results suggest that Socs1 is an M-CSF-R-binding partner involved in negative regulation of proliferation signaling and that it differentially affects cytokine receptor signals.

Expression of Mona (monocytic adapter) in myeloid progenitor cells results in increased and prolonged MAP kinase activation upon macrophage colony-stimulating factor stimulation.

Mona is an SH3 and SH2 domain-containing adapter molecule that is induced during monocytic differentiation. Here we have first shown that M-CSFR is the major Mona partner in M-CSF signaling, the interaction being mediated through tyrosine 697 of the receptor. Next we asked whether Mona expression would alter the Ras/MAP kinase pathway since Mona is a likely competitor of Grb2 for binding to M-CSFR. We found that M-CSF induced late and massive phosphorylation of ERK molecules in Mona-expressing myeloid cells compared to non-expressing cells. These results suggest that Mona expression might modify M-CSF signaling during monocytic differentiation.

Early events in M-CSF receptor signaling.

The M-CSF receptor (M-CSFR) is expressed in monocytes-macrophages and their progenitors, and drives growth and development of this blood cell lineage. The M-CSFR is a member of a small family of growth factor receptors exhibiting related structures but distinct tissue-specific functions. This review discusses the early molecular events in the M-CSF signaling mechanisms, positive signals, negative signals, the possible organization of individual signaling pathways, and the problem of achieving specificity in the signal transduction mechanism.

Colony-stimulating factor-1 impairs both proliferation and differentiation signals of erythropoietin during the commitment of bipotential NFS-60 cell line to the monocytic lineage.

The interleukin-3 (IL-3) dependent cell line NFS-60 contains bipotential progenitors that exhibit both erythroid and myelomonocytic potentials. In order to study their commitment to the monocytic lineage, NFS-60 cells were retrovirally transduced with mouse c-fms cDNA, which encodes the colony-stimulating factor-1 receptor (CSF-1R), resulting in the N-Fms cell line. N-Fms cells proliferated in response to CSF-1 with a growth rate similar to that obtained in response to IL-3 and progressively differentiated from myeloid blasts to monocytic cells within 3 days of culture. When maintained in IL-3, about 3% of N-Fms cells formed large hemoglobinized colonies in semisolid cultures supplemented with erythropoietin (EPO). However, this property was lost after a 24-hour cultivation in the presence of CSF-1 or, interestingly, both CSF-1 and IL-3. This loss of response to EPO was reverted following a brief passage (24 hours) in IL-3, but the rescued colonies did not undergo terminal erythrocytic differentiation. Furthermore, CSF-1 also affected proliferative response to EPO of N-Fms cells constitutively expressing EPO receptors. Our data strongly suggest that CSF-1 can suppress erythroid potential in bipotential N-Fms cells by altering proliferative and differentiation signal of EPO.

Mona, a novel hematopoietic-specific adaptor interacting with the macrophage colony-stimulating factor receptor, is implicated in monocyte/macrophage development.

The production, survival and function of monocytes and macrophages are regulated by the macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF or CSF-1) through its tyrosine kinase receptor Fms. Binding of M-CSF results in Fms autophosphorylation on specific tyrosines that act as docking sites for intracellular signaling molecules containing SH2 domains. Using a yeast two-hybrid screen, we cloned a novel adaptor protein which we called 'Mona' for monocytic adaptor. Mona contains one SH2 domain and two SH3 domains related to the Grb2 adaptor. Accordingly, Mona interacts with activated Fms on phosphorylated Tyr697, which is also the Grb2-binding site. Furthermore, Mona contains a unique proline-rich region located between the SH2 domain and the C-terminal SH3 domain, and is apparently devoid of any catalytic domain. Mona expression is restricted to two hematopoietic tissues: the spleen and the peripheral blood mononuclear cells, and is induced rapidly during monocytic differentiation of the myeloid NFS-60 cell line in response to M-CSF. Strikingly, overexpression of Mona in bone marrow cells results in strong reduction of M-CSF-dependent macrophage production in vitro. Taken together, our results suggest an important role for Mona in the regulation of monocyte/macrophage development as controlled by M-CSF.

CSF-1 and interferon-gamma act synergistically to promote differentiation of FDC-P1 cells into macrophages.

FDC-P1 cells expressing the wildtype CSF-1 receptor, FDwtfms, differentiate into macrophages during incubation with CSF-1. This response is amplified in the presence of interferon-gamma. Cells expressing the 807F mutant receptor, 807F cells, proliferate in response to CSF-1 and do not differentiate. However, in response to CSF-1 and interferon-gamma they differentiate as well. CSF-1 causes the activation of STAT proteins in FDwtfms cells, but not in 807F cells. Cellular differentiation correlates with a sustained activation of STAT1 and STAT3 in response to interferon-gamma over at least 40 hours. However, interferon-gamma alone did not cause differentiation of cells expressing either receptor. Other defects in response to CSF-1 of the 807F cells, such as lack of PLC gamma 2 activation, were not complemented by co-incubation of the cells with CSF-1 and interferon-gamma. It appears that a combination of signaling pathways are activated by CSF-1 and interferon-gamma which caused the shift of response from proliferation to differentiation in the 807F cells and an enhanced differentiation in the FDwtfms cells.

Sequential activation of phoshatidylinositol 3-kinase and phospholipase C-gamma2 by the M-CSF receptor is necessary for differentiation signaling.

Binding of macrophage colony stimulating factor (M-CSF) to its receptor (Fms) induces dimerization and activation of the tyrosine kinase domain of the receptor, resulting in autophosphorylation of cytoplasmic tyrosine residues used as docking sites for SH2-containing signaling proteins that relay growth and development signals. To determine whether a distinct signaling pathway is responsible for the Fms differentiation signal versus the growth signal, we sought new molecules involved in Fms signaling by performing a two-hybrid screen in yeast using the autophosphorylated cytoplasmic domain of the wild-type Fms receptor as bait. Clones containing SH2 domains of phospholipase C-gamma2 (PLC-gamma2) were frequently isolated and shown to interact with phosphorylated Tyr721 of the Fms receptor, which is also the binding site of the p85 subunit of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-kinase). At variance with previous reports, M-CSF induced rapid and transient tyrosine phosphorylation of PLC-gamma2 in myeloid FDC-P1 cells and this activation required the activity of the PI3-kinase pathway. The Fms Y721F mutation strongly decreased this activation. Moreover, the Fms Y807F mutation decreased both binding and phosphorylation of PLC-gamma2 but not that of p85. Since the Fms Y807F mutation abrogates the differentiation signal when expressed in FDC-P1 cells and since this phenotype could be reproduced by a specific inhibitor of PLC-gamma, we propose that a balance between the activities of PLC-gamma2 and PI3-kinase in response to M-CSF is required for cell differentiation.

Growth and differentiation signals regulated by the M-CSF receptor.

The normal proto-oncogene c-fms encodes the macrophage growth factor (M-CSF) receptor involved in growth, survival, and differentiation along the monocyte-macrophage lineage of hematopoietic cell development. A major portion of our research concerns unraveling the temporal, molecular, and structural features that determine and regulate these events. Previous results indicated that c-fms can transmit a growth signal as well as a signal for differentiation in the appropriate cells. To investigate the role of the Fms tyrosine autophosphorylation sites in proliferation vs. differentiation signaling, four of these sites were disrupted and the mutant receptors expressed in a clone derived from the myeloid FDC-P1 cell line. These analyses revealed that: (1) none of the four autophosphorylation sites studied (Y697, Y706, Y721, and Y807) are essential for M-CSF-dependent proliferation of the FDC-P1 clone; (2) Y697, Y706, and Y721 sites, located in the kinase insert region of Fms, are not necessary for differentiation but their presence augments this process; and (3) the Y807 site is essential for the Fms differentiation signal: its mutation totally abrogates the differentiation of the FDC-P1 clone and conversely increases the rate of M-CSF-dependent proliferation. This suggests that the Y807 site may control a switch between growth and differentiation. The assignment of Y807 as a critical site for the reciprocal regulation of growth and differentiation may provide a paradigm for Fms involvement in leukemogenesis, and we are currently investigating the downstream signals transmitted by the tyrosine-phosphorylated 807 site. In Fms-expressing FDC-P1 cells, M-CSF stimulation results in the rapid (30 sec) tyrosine phosphorylation of Fms on the five cytoplasmic tyrosine autophosphorylation sites, and subsequent tyrosine phosphorylation of several host cell proteins occurs within 1-2 min. Complexes are formed between Fms and other signal transduction proteins such as Grb2, Shc, Sos1, and p85. In addition, a new signal transduction protein of 150 kDa is detectable in the FDC-P1 cells. The p150 is phosphorylated on tyrosine, and forms a complex with Shc and Grb2. The interaction with Shc occurs via a protein tyrosine binding (PTB) domain at the N-terminus of Shc. The p150 is not detectable in Fms signaling within fibroblasts, yet the PDGF receptor induces the tyrosine phosphorylation of a similarly sized protein. In hematopoietic cells, this protein is involved in signaling by receptors for GM-CSF, IL-3, KL, MPO, and EPO. We have now cloned a cDNA for this protein and found at least one related family member. The related family member is a Fanconia Anemia gene product, and this suggests potential ways the p150 protein may function in Fms signaling.

Uncoupling of the proliferation and differentiation signals mediated by the murine macrophage colony-stimulating factor receptor expressed in myeloid FDC-P1 cells.

The macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) regulates proliferation and differentiation of cells belonging to the monocytic lineage. We have investigated the nature and origin of the proliferation and differentiation signals derived from the M-CSF receptor (Fms) by mutating Fms at the four tyrosine autophosphorylation sites and examining their biological effects in an FDC-P1 clone. Wild-type Fms stimulated both growth and differentiation of FDC-P1 cells in response to M-CSF stimulation. In contrast, both proliferation and differentiation were differentially disrupted by mutations affecting the four tyrosine autophosphorylation sites. These analyses revealed that: (a) none of the four autophosphorylation sites studied (Y697, Y706, Y721, and Y807) were essential for M-CSF-dependent proliferation of the FDC-P1 clone; (b) Y697, Y706, and Y721 sites, located in the kinase insert region of Fms, were not necessary for differentiation, but their presence augmented this process; (c) mutation of the Y807 site totally abrogated the differentiation of the FDC-P1 clone and simultaneously increased the rate of M-CSF-dependent proliferation; and (d) conversely, increasing the intracellular cAMP level blocked the growth signal in the FDC-P1 clone but had no effect on differentiation. These results suggest that autophosphorylation of Fms at the Y807 site controls the balance between signals for growth and differentiation.

Expression of functional human CSF-1 receptors on mouse bone marrow erythroid progenitor cells.

We have previously shown that a murine multipotent hematopoietic cell line could proliferate in response to CSF-1 after retroviral transfer of human CSF-1 receptor (CSF-1R) gene (c-fms) without loss of the erythroid differentiation potential. In the light of these data, we asked whether ectopic expression of human c-fms gene would lead to the conditional immortalization of murine hematopoietic progenitor cells. In the present studies, murine bone marrow cells were infected with recombinant retroviruses containing the human c-fms cDNA. We found that CSF-1 could exert a stimulatory activity on erythroid progenitors in the presence of Epo only when bone marrow cells had been previously infected with c-fms retroviruses. In addition, expression of human CSF-1R in murine Epo-dependent, v-src-immortalized cells resulted in CSF-1-dependent proliferation of these cells in the absence of Epo. These data show that human CSF-1R (i) can stimulate early bone marrow erythroid progenitors, (ii) might require additional signals provided by oncogenes or cytokine receptors to transduce a mitogenic signal into mouse bone marrow erythroid progenitors.

Expression of human colony-stimulating factor-1 (CSF-1) receptor in murine pluripotent hematopoietic NFS-60 cells induces long-term proliferation in response to CSF-1 without loss of erythroid differentiation potential.

NFS-60 and FDCP-Mix cells are interleukin-3--dependent multipotent hematopoietic cells that can differentiate in vitro into mature myeloid and erythroid cells. Retrovirus-mediated transfer of the human colony-stimulating factor-1 (CSF-1) receptor gene (c-fms) enabled NFS-60 cells but not FDCP-Mix cells to proliferate in response to CSF-1. The phenotype of NFS-60 cells expressing the human CSF-1 receptor (CSF-1R) grown in CSF-1 did not grossly differ from that of original NFS-60 as assessed by cytochemical and surface markers. Importantly, these cells retained their erythroid potentiality. In contrast, a CSF-1-dependent variant of NFS-60, strongly expressing murine CSF-1R, differentiated into monocyte/macrophages upon CSF-1 stimulation and almost totally lost its erythroid potentiality. We also observed that NFS-60 but not FDCP-Mix cells could grow in response to stem cell factor, (SCF), although both cell lines express relatively high amounts of SCF receptors. This suggests that SCF-R and CSF-1R signalling pathways share at least one component that may be missing or insufficiently expressed in FDCP-Mix cells. Taken together, these results suggest that human CSF-1R can use the SCF-R signalling pathway in murine multipotent cells and thereby favor self-renewal versus differentiation.

Murine interleukin 9 stimulates the proliferation of mouse erythroid progenitor cells and favors the erythroid differentiation of multipotent FDCP-mix cells.

Murine interleukin 9 (mIL-9) is a T-cell-derived growth factor that stimulates erythroid burst-forming units (BFU-E) from murine bone marrow. We further investigated this activity using enriched mouse bone marrow progenitors and the multipotent interleukin 3 (IL-3)-dependent FDCP-Mix cell line. We report here that mIL-9 stimulates erythroid burst formation of total bone marrow cells and accessory cell-depleted bone marrow cells, even in serum-free cultures. On the other hand, we observed that although mIL-9 could not support proliferation of FDCP-Mix cells, it favors erythroid differentiation of these cells in the presence of both IL-3 and erythropoietin. These results strongly suggest that mIL-9 acts directly on mouse erythroid progenitor cells.

Insulin-like growth factor-1 stimulates proliferation of myeloid FDC-P1 cells overexpressing the human colony-stimulating factor-1 receptor.

Retrovirally expressed human CSF-1 receptor can induce CSF-1-dependent growth of IL-3-dependent hemopoietic cells FDC-P1. Here we show that expression of the human CSF-1 receptor also allowed FDC-P1 cells to grow in response to Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 (IGF-I). The authentic receptor for IGF-I was identified by affinity cross-linking and binding analysis on both control (infected with a neo vector) and CSF-1 receptor expressing FDC-P1 cells. DNA and RNA analysis of these cells and of five clones of IGF-I responsive cells demonstrated that the IGF-I receptor gene was not rearranged nor was it abnormally expressed in IGF-I responsive cells. These results suggest that myeloid cells over-expressing CSF-1R (c-fms protooncogene product) might have a proliferative advantage over normal myeloid cells in a physiological situation, independently of the presence of CSF-1 or the capacity of the cells to respond to CSF-1. This would indicate a possible role for c-fms in human neoplasia.

Expression of human CSF-1 receptor induces CSF-1-dependent proliferation in murine myeloid but not in T-lymphoid cells.

The receptor for human macrophage colony stimulating factor (CSF-1R) was introduced into hematopoietic cell lines of myeloid and T-lymphoid origin, both of which normally do not express the CSF-1R. Infection of an interleukin-3 (IL-3)-dependent mouse myeloid cell line (FDC-P1) with a high titer retroviral vector expressing the human c-fms c-DNA, enabled CSF-1-dependent proliferation in short-term liquid culture assays as well as in clonal culture systems. CSF-1-dependent cell lines could be established after sorting for CSF-1R positive cells. In contrast to FDC-P1 cells, expression of the CSF-1R in CTLL cells, an IL-2-dependent mouse cytotoxic T-cell line, and in T-cell growth factor III/P40-dependent helper T-cells, ST2/K9.4a2, did not lead to CSF-1-dependent proliferation. These observations lead to the conclusion that ectopically expressed CSF-1R may function on certain myeloid cells where it is normally not expressed, suggesting the presence of signal transduction pathways which can be utilized by that foreign receptor. In contrast, it appears that T-lymphoid cells lack such a signalling mechanism, indicating that quite different modes of transducing mitogenic signals from the cell membrane to the nucleus must have developed during myeloid and T-lymphoid differentiation.