GSE184931
EGR1 CHIP and RNA sequencing following EGR1 knockdown in CD34+ human hematopoeitic stem and progenitor cells
Therapy-related myeloid neoplasms (t-MN) share many similarities with AML de novo in the elderly.  One common factor is that they arise in the setting of chronic inflammation, likely due to advanced age or chemotherapy-induced senescence. Here, we examined the impact of haploinsufficient loss of the del(5q) tumor suppressor gene, EGR1, commonly deleted in high-risk MNs.  In mice, under the exogenous inflammatory stress of either serial transplant or successive doses of the alkylating agent ENU, Egr1-haploinsufficient hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) exhibit a clonal advantage. Complete loss of EGR1 function is incompatible with transformation; mutations of EGR1 are rare and are not observed in the remaining allele in del(5q) patients and complete knockout of Egr1 in mice leads to HSC exhaustion. Using chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-seq), we identify EGR1 binding sites in human CD34+ cord blood-derived stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) and show that EGR1 binds genes critical for stem cell differentiation, inflammatory signaling, and the DNA damage response. Notably, in the chromosome 5 sequences frequently deleted in patients, there is a significant enrichment of innate and inflammatory genes, which may confer a fitness advantage in an inflammatory environment.  Short hairpin RNA (shRNA) mediated silencing of EGR1 biases HSPCs towards a self-renewal transcriptional signature. In the absence of EGR1, cells upregulate MYC-driven proliferative signals, downregulate CDKN1A (p21), disrupt the DNA damage response, and downregulate inflammation - adaptations anticipated to confer a relative fitness advantage for stem cells especially in an environment of chronic inflammation. Overall design: RNA sequencing following EGR1 knockdown in CD34+ human hematopoeitic stem and progenitor cells (HSPC) isolated from cord blood. EGR1 CHIP-seq from  CD34+ HSPCs.