title: Deficiency of MIWI2 (Piwil4) induces mouse erythroleukemia cell differentiation, but has no effect on hematopoiesis in vivo.
abstract: Piwi proteins and their small non-coding RNA partners are involved in the maintenance of stem cell character and genome integrity in the male germ cells of mammals. MIWI2, one of the mouse Piwi-like proteins, is expressed in the prepachytene phase of spermatogenesis during the period of de novo methylation. Absence of this protein leads to meiotic defects and a progressive loss of germ cells. There is an accumulation of evidence that Piwi proteins may be active in hematopoietic tissues. Thus, MIWI2 may have a role in hematopoietic stem and/or progenitor cell self-renewal and differentiation, and defects in MIWI2 may lead to abnormal hematopoiesis. MIWI2 mRNA can be detected in a mouse erythroblast cell line by RNA-seq, and shRNA-mediated knockdown of this mRNA causes the cells to take on characteristics of differentiated erythroid precursors. However, there are no detectable hematopoietic abnormalities in a MIWI2-deficient mouse model. While subtle, non-statistically significant changes were noted in the hematopoietic function of mice without a functional MIWI2 gene when compared to wild type mice, our results show that MIWI2 is not solely necessary for hematopoiesis within the normal life span of a mouse.
authors.affiliation: Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute, Oakland, California, United States of America.
authors.forename: James E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Jacobs
authors.affiliation: Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute, Oakland, California, United States of America.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.affiliation: Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute, Oakland, California, United States of America.
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dhahbi
authors.affiliation: Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute, Oakland, California, United States of America.
authors.forename: Dario
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Boffelli
authors.affiliation: Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute, Oakland, California, United States of America.
authors.forename: David I K
authors.initials: DI
authors.lastname: Martin
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000473:pathology; D000818:Animals; D060565:Argonaute Proteins / Q000172:deficiency* / Q000378:metabolism; D001773:Blood Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D055785:Gene Knockdown Techniques; D006410:Hematopoiesis; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000378:metabolism; D004915:Leukemia, Erythroblastic, Acute / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology*; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D009928:Organ Specificity / Q000235:genetics; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering / Q000378:metabolism; D017423:Sequence Analysis, RNA; D013154:Spleen / Q000378:metabolism; D014916:Whole-Body Irradiation
chemical_list: D060565:Argonaute Proteins; D006454:Hemoglobins; C546575:PIWIL4 protein, mouse; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D034741:RNA, Small Interfering