A genetic screen in zebrafish defines a hierarchical network of pathways required for hematopoietic stem cell emergence.

Defining the genetic pathways essential for hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) development remains a fundamental goal impacting stem cell biology and regenerative medicine. To genetically dissect HSC emergence in the aorta-gonad-mesonephros (AGM) region, we screened a collection of insertional zebrafish mutant lines for expression of the HSC marker, c-myb. Nine essential genes were identified, which were subsequently binned into categories representing their proximity to HSC induction. Using overexpression and loss-of-function studies in zebrafish, we ordered these signaling pathways with respect to each other and to the Vegf, Notch, and Runx programs. Overexpression of vegf and notch is sufficient to induce HSCs in the tbx16 mutant, despite a lack of axial vascular organization. Although embryos deficient for artery specification, such as the phospholipase C gamma-1 (plcgamma1) mutant, fail to specify HSCs, overexpression of notch or runx1 can rescue their hematopoietic defect. The most proximal HSC mutants, such as hdac1, were found to have no defect in vessel or artery formation. Further analysis demonstrated that hdac1 acts downstream of Notch signaling but upstream or in parallel to runx1 to promote AGM hematopoiesis. Together, our results establish a hierarchy of signaling programs required and sufficient for HSC emergence in the AGM.

Using intracellular markers to identify a novel set of surface markers for live cell purification from a heterogeneous hIPSC culture.

Human embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) can provide sources for midbrain dopaminergic (mDA) neural progenitors (NPCs) for cell therapy to treat Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. However, the well-known line-to-cell line variability in the differentiation capacity of individual cell lines needs to be improved for the success of this therapy. To address this issue, we sought to identify mDA NPC specific cell surface markers for fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS). Through RNA isolation after sorting for NPCs based on staining for cell-specific transcription factors followed by microarray, we identified two positive cell surface markers (CORIN and CD166) and one negative cell surface marker (CXCR4) for mDA NPC sorting. These three markers can enrich floor plate NPCs to 90% purity, and the sorted NPCs more efficiently differentiate to mature dopaminergic neurons compared to unsorted or CORIN+ alone mDA NPCs. This surface marker identification strategy can be used broadly to facilitate isolation of cell subtypes of interest from heterogeneous cultures.

A Cdx4-Sall4 regulatory module controls the transition from mesoderm formation to embryonic hematopoiesis.

Deletion of caudal/cdx genes alters hox gene expression and causes defects in posterior tissues and hematopoiesis. Yet, the defects in hox gene expression only partially explain these phenotypes. To gain deeper insight into Cdx4 function, we performed chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-seq) combined with gene-expression profiling in zebrafish, and identified the transcription factor spalt-like 4 (sall4) as a Cdx4 target. ChIP-seq revealed that Sall4 bound to its own gene locus and the cdx4 locus. Expression profiling showed that Cdx4 and Sall4 coregulate genes that initiate hematopoiesis, such as hox, scl, and lmo2. Combined cdx4/sall4 gene knockdown impaired erythropoiesis, and overexpression of the Cdx4 and Sall4 target genes scl and lmo2 together rescued the erythroid program. These findings suggest that auto- and cross-regulation of Cdx4 and Sall4 establish a stable molecular circuit in the mesoderm that facilitates the activation of the blood-specific program as development proceeds.

Hematopoietic development in the zebrafish.

The model organism Danio rerio, also known as the zebrafish, is an excellent system for studying the developmental process of hematopoiesis. It is an ideal model for in vivo imaging, and it is useful for large-scale genetic screens. These have led to the discovery of previously unknown players in hematopoiesis, as well as helped our understanding of hematopoietic development. In this review, we will summarize hematopoiesis in the zebrafish and discuss how genetic approaches using the zebrafish system have helped to build our current knowledge in the field of hematopoiesis.

A chemical genetic screen in zebrafish for pathways interacting with cdx4 in primitive hematopoiesis.

cdx4, a caudal-related homeodomain-containing transcription factor, functions as a regulator of hox genes, thereby playing a critical role in anterior-posterior (A-P) patterning during embryogenesis. In zebrafish, homozygous deletion of the cdx4 gene results in a mutant phenotype known as kugelig, with aberrant A-P patterning and severe anemia characterized by decreased gata1 expression in the posterior lateral mesoderm. To identify pathways that interact with cdx4 during primitive hematopoiesis, we conducted a chemical genetic screen in the cdx4 mutant background for compounds that increase gata1 expression in cdx4 mutants. Among 2640 compounds that were tested, we discovered two compounds that rescued gata1 expression in the cdx4-mutant embryos. The strongest rescue was observed with bergapten, a psoralen compound found in bergamont oil. Another member of the psoralen family, 8-methoxypsoralen, was also found to rescue gata1 expression in cdx4-mutant embryos. The psoralen compounds also disrupted normal A-P patterning of embryos. These compounds modify the cdx4-mutant phenotype and will help elucidate signaling pathways that act downstream or parallel to the cdx4-hox pathway.