The nucleosome remodeling and deacetylase (NuRD; also known as Mi-2) complex regulates gene expression at the level of chromatin. The NuRD complex has been identified – using both genetic and molecular analyses – as a key determinant of differentiation in mouse embryonic stem cells and during development in various model systems. Similar to other chromatin remodelers, such as SWI/SNF and polycomb complexes, NuRD has also been implicated in the regulation of transcriptional events integral to oncogenesis and cancer progression. Emerging molecular details regarding recruitment of NuRD to specific loci during development and modulation of these events in cancer are used to illustrate how inappropriate localization of the complex could contribute to tumor biology.

Cytokine receptor signals have been suggested to stimulate cell differentiation during hemato/lymphopoiesis. Such action, however, has not been clearly demonstrated. Here, we show that adult B cell development in IL-7 −/− and IL-7Rα2/− mice is arrested at the pre–pro-B cell stage due to insufficient expression of the B cell–specific transcription factor EBF and its target genes, which form a transcription factor network in determining B lineage specification. EBF expression is restored in IL-7 −/− pre–pro-B cells upon IL-7 stimulation or in IL-7Rα−/− pre–pro-B cells by activation of STAT5, a major signaling molecule downstream of the IL-7R signaling pathway. Furthermore, enforced EBF expression partially rescues B cell development in IL-7Rα−/− mice. Thus, IL-7 receptor signaling is a participant in the formation of the transcription factor network during B lymphopoiesis by up-regulating EBF, allowing stage transition from the pre–pro-B to further maturational stages.

BackgroundChemotherapy-induced damage of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPC) causes multi-lineage myelosuppression. Trilaciclib is an intravenous CDK4/6 inhibitor in development to proactively preserve HSPC and immune system function during chemotherapy (myelopreservation). Preclinically, trilaciclib transiently maintains HSPC in G1 arrest and protects them from chemotherapy damage, leading to faster hematopoietic recovery and enhanced antitumor immunity.Patients and methodsThis was a phase Ib (open-label, dose-finding) and phase II (randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled) study of the safety, efficacy and PK of trilaciclib in combination with etoposide/carboplatin (E/P) therapy for treatment-naive extensive-stage small-cell lung cancer patients. Patients received trilaciclib or placebo before E/P on days 1–3 of each cycle. Select end points were prespecified to assess the effect of trilaciclib on myelosuppression and antitumor efficacy.ResultsA total of 122 patients were enrolled, with 19 patients in part 1 and 75 patients in part 2 receiving study drug. Improvements were seen with trilaciclib in neutrophil, RBC (red blood cell) and lymphocyte measures. Safety on trilaciclib+E/P was improved with fewer ≥G3 adverse events (AEs) in trilaciclib (50%) versus placebo (83.8%), primarily due to less hematological toxicity. No trilaciclib-related ≥G3 AEs occurred. Antitumor efficacy assessment for trilaciclib versus placebo, respectively, showed: ORR (66.7% versus 56.8%, P = 0.3831); median PFS [6.2 versus 5.0 m; hazard ratio (HR) 0.71; P = 0.1695]; and OS (10.9 versus 10.6 m; HR 0.87; P = 0.6107).ConclusionTrilaciclib demonstrated an improvement in the patient’s tolerability of chemotherapy as shown by myelopreservation across multiple hematopoietic lineages resulting in fewer supportive care interventions and dose reductions, improved safety profile, and no detriment to antitumor efficacy. These data demonstrate strong proof-of-concept for trilaciclib’s myelopreservation benefits.Clinical Trail numberNCT02499770.

The mechanism of lineage commitment from hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) is not well understood. Although commitment to either the lymphoid or the myeloid lineage is popularly viewed as the first step of lineage restriction from HSCs, this model of hematopoietic differentiation has recently been challenged. The previous identification of multipotent progenitors (MPPs) that can produce lymphocytes and granulocyte/macrophages (GMs) but lacks erythroid differentiation ability suggests the existence of an alternative HSC differentiation program. Contribution to different hematopoietic lineages by these MPPs under physiological conditions, however, has not been carefully examined. In this study, we performed a refined characterization of MPPs by subfractionating three distinct subsets based on Flt3 and vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 expression. These MPP subsets differ in their ability to give rise to erythroid and GM lineage cells but are equally potent in lymphoid lineage differentiation in vivo. The developmental hierarchy of these MPP subsets demonstrates the sequential loss of erythroid and then GM differentiation potential during early hematopoiesis. Our results suggest that the first step of lineage commitment from HSCs is not simply a selection between the lymphoid and the myeloid lineage.

The thymus requires continuous replenishment of progenitors from the bone marrow (BM) to sustain T cell development. However, it remains unclear which hematopoietic progenitors downstream from hematopoietic stem cells in the BM home to the thymus in adult mice. In this work, we demonstrate that although multiple BM populations have intrinsic T lineage differentiation potential, a small subset of multipotent progenitors (MPPs) expressing CCR9 preferentially homes to the thymus. These CCR9 ؉ MPPs are phenotypically similar to the most immature early T lineage progenitors (ETPs) in the thymus and are present in the peripheral blood. Similar to ETPs, CCR9 ؉ MPPs undergo Notch signaling, as indicated by higher expression of Notch1 and downstream target Hes1 genes compared with other MPP subsets. Furthermore, CCR9 ؉ MPPs possess differentiation potential similar to that of ETPs, with very limited granulocyte/macrophage differentiation potential, but they can differentiate into T, B, and dendritic cells. These characteristics implicate CCR9 ؉ MPPs as the BM precursors of the earliest thymic progenitors. In addition, our data suggest that before transition from BM to thymus, MPPs are lymphoid-specified and primed for T lineage differentiation.hematopoiesis ͉ homing ͉ thymic immigrants ͉ thymopoiesis ͉ lineage commitment T cells are continuously produced from the thymus (for review, see ref. 1). The most immature thymocyte population has been characterized in the CD4 lo population or in the CD4 and CD8 double negative (DN) population as c-Kit high CD44 ϩ CD25 Ϫ cells (2-8). These most immature thymocytes, namely early T lineage progenitors (ETPs), have no self-renewal abilities (9, 10). Therefore, hematopoietic progenitors in the bone marrow (BM) derived from hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) need to seed the thymus, and they give rise to ETPs to initiate intrathymic T cell development in adults.The mechanism underlying the mobilization of progenitors from the BM and subsequent homing to the thymus, however, remains largely unclear. Because BM cells transit to the thymus through blood flow, it is important to characterize hemato/lymphopoietic progenitors in the peripheral blood (PB), as well as the most immature T cell progenitors in the thymus and thymic immigrants in BM, to understand the connection between BM and thymopoiesis (11, 12). T cell progenitors significantly expand during T cell development, and the thymus is filled with various stages of developing T cells. Therefore, the number of thymus-seeding cells at any given time should be extremely low in the nonstress steady state in adults (12, 13), making the characterization of these recent thymic immigrants challenging. A recent study in chemokine receptor CCR9-GFP knockin (KI) mice demonstrated that immature ETPs express CCR9, because only GFP hi ETPs in CCR9-GFP KI mice have T and B differentiation ability from the same progenitor (14). Therefore, CCR9 is likely to be expressed on thymic immigrants in the BM.In BM, multiple progenitor populations have been show...

Thymocytes undergoing TCRβ gene rearrangements are maintained in a low or nonproliferating state during early T cell development. This block in cell cycle progression is not released until the expression of a functional pre-TCR, which is composed of a successfully rearranged TCRβ-chain and the Pre-Tα-chain. The regulatory molecules responsible for the coordination of these differentiation and proliferation events are currently unknown. E2A and HEB are structurally and functionally related basic helix-loop-helix transcription factors involved in T cell development. To reveal the function of E2A and HEB through the stage of pre-TCR expression and alleviate functional compensation between E2A and HEB, we use a double-conditional knockout model. The simultaneous deletion of E2A and HEB in developing thymocytes leads to a severe developmental block before pre-TCR expression and a dramatic reduction of Pre-Tα expression. These developmentally arrested thymocytes exhibit increased proliferation in vivo and dramatic expansion ex vivo in response to IL-7 signaling. These results suggest that E2A and HEB are not only critical for T cell differentiation but also necessary to retain developing thymocytes in cell cycle arrest before pre-TCR expression.

Mechanisms of lymphoid and myeloid lineage choice by hemopoietic stem cells remain unclear. In this study we show that the multipotent progenitor (MPP) population, which is immediately downstream of hemopoietic stem cells, is heterogeneous and can be subdivided in terms of VCAM-1 expression. VCAM-1+ MPPs were fully capable of differentiating into both lymphoid and myeloid lineages. In contrast, VCAM-1− MPPs gave rise to lymphocytes predominately in vivo. T and B cell development from VCAM-1− MPPs was 1 wk faster than that from VCAM-1+ MPPs. Furthermore, VCAM-1+ MPPs gave rise to common myeloid progenitors and VCAM-1− MPPs in vivo, indicating that VCAM-1− MPPs are progenies of VCAM-1+ MPPs. VCAM-1− MPPs, in turn, developed into lymphoid lineage-restricted common lymphoid progenitors. These results establish a hierarchy of developmental relationship between MPP subsets and lymphoid and myeloid progenitors. In addition, VCAM-1+ MPPs may represent the branching point between the lymphoid and myeloid lineages.

Summary How hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) produce particular lineages is insufficiently understood. We searched for key factors that direct HSC to lymphopoiesis. Comparing gene expression profiles for HSCs and early lymphoid progenitors revealed that Satb1, a global chromatin regulator, was markedly induced with lymphoid lineage specification. HSCs from Satb1-deficient mice were defective in lymphopoietic activity in culture and failed to reconstitute T lymphopoiesis in wild-type recipients. Furthermore, Satb1 transduction of HSCs as well as embryonic stem cells robustly promoted their differentiation toward lymphocytes. Whereas genes that encode Ikaros, E2A, and Notch1 were unaffected, many genes involved in lineage decisions were regulated by Satb1. Satb1 expression was reduced in aged HSCs with compromised lymphopoietic potential, but forced Satb1 expression partly restored that potential. Thus, Satb1 governs the initiating process central to the replenishing of lymphoid lineages. Such activity in lymphoid cell generation may be of clinical importance and useful to overcome immunosenescence.