Genetic disarray follows mutant KLF1-E325K expression in a congenital dyserythropoietic anemia patient.

Congenital dyserythropoietic anemia type IV is caused by a heterozygous mutation, Glu325Lys (E325K), in the KLF1 transcription factor. Molecular characteristics of this disease have not been clarified, partly due to its rarity. We expanded erythroid cells from a patient's peripheral blood and analyzed its global expression pattern. We find that a large number of erythroid pathways are disrupted, particularly those related to membrane transport, globin regulation, and iron utilization. The altered genetics lead to significant deficits in differentiation. Glu325 is within the KLF1 zinc finger domain at an amino acid critical for site specific DNA binding. The change to Lys is predicted to significantly alter the target site recognition sequence, both by subverting normal recognition and by enabling interaction with novel sites. Consistent with this, we find high level ectopic expression of genes not normally present in the red cell. These altered properties explain patients' clinical and phenotypic features, and elucidate the dominant character of the mutation.

Storage characteristics of multiple-donor pooled red blood cells compared to single-donor red blood cell units.

BACKGROUND: Each unit of blood donated is processed and stored individually resulting in variability in the amount of red blood cells (RBCs) collected, RBC properties, and the 24-hour posttransfusion RBC survivability. As a result, each unit differs in its ability to deliver oxygen and potentially its effects on the recipient. The goal of this study was to investigate the storage of pooled RBCs from multiple donors in comparison to control standard RBC units. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Two units of irradiated, leukoreduced RBCs of same ABO, D, E, C, and K antigen phenotype were collected from each of five donors using apheresis. One unit from each donor was pooled in a 2-L bag and remaining units were used as controls. After being pooled, RBCs were separated in five bags and stored at 4°C along with the controls. Quality indexes were measured on Days 2, 14, and 28 for all the units. RESULTS: Adenosine triphosphate assays for both pooled and controls showed a slight decrease from Day 2 to Day 28 (pooled/control from 5.22/5.24 to 4.35/4.33 µmol/g hemoglobin [Hb]). 2,3-Diphosphoglycerate was successfully rejuvenated for all RBC units on Day 28 (pooled 11.46 µmol/g Hb; control 11.86 µmol/g Hb). The results showed a nonsignificant difference between pooled and control units, with a general trend of lower standard deviation for pooled units when compared to controls. CONCLUSION: Pooled units have reduced unit-to-unit variability. Future exploration of their immunogenicity is required before using pooled units for transfusion.

Altered heme-mediated modulation of dendritic cell function in sickle cell alloimmunization.

Transfusions are the main treatment for patients with sickle cell disease. However, alloimmunization remains a major life-threatening complication for these patients, but the mechanism underlying pathogenesis of alloimmunization is not known. Given the chronic hemolytic state characteristic of sickle cell disease, resulting in release of free heme and activation of inflammatory cascades, we tested the hypothesis that anti-inflammatory response to heme is compromised in alloimmunized sickle patients, increasing their risk of alloimmunization. Heme-exposed monocyte-derived dendritic cells from both non-alloimmunized sickle patients and healthy donors inhibited priming of pro-inflammatory CD4(+) type 1 T cells, and exhibited significantly reduced levels of the maturation marker CD83. In contrast, in alloimmunized patients, heme did not reverse priming of pro-inflammatory CD4(+) cells by monocyte-derived dendritic cells or their maturation. Furthermore, heme dampened NF-κB activation in non-alloimmunized, but not in alloimmunized monocyte-derived dendritic cells. Heme-mediated CD83 inhibition depended on Toll-like receptor 4 but not heme oxygenase 1. These data suggest that extracellular heme limits CD83 expression on dendritic cells in non-alloimmunized sickle patients through a Toll-like receptor 4-mediated pathway, involving NF-κB, resulting in dampening of pro-inflammatory responses, but that in alloimmunized patients this pathway is defective. This opens up the possibility of developing new therapeutic strategies to prevent sickle cell alloimmunization.

A novel bioreactor and culture method drives high yields of platelets from stem cells.

BACKGROUND: Platelet (PLT) transfusion is the primary treatment for thrombocytopenia. PLTs are obtained exclusively from volunteer donors, and the PLT product has only a 5-day shelf life, which can limit supply and result in PLT shortages. PLTs derived from stem cells could help to fill this clinical need. However, current culture methods yield far too few PLTs for clinical application. To address this need, a defined, serum-free culture method was designed using a novel bioreactor to increase the yield of PLTs from stem cell-derived megakaryocytes. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: CD34 cells isolated from umbilical cord blood were expanded with a variety of reagents and on a nanofiber membrane using serum-free medium. These cells were then differentiated into megakaryocytic lineage by culturing with thrombopoietin and stem cell factor in serum-free conditions. Polyploidy was induced by addition of Rho kinase inhibitor or actin polymerization inhibitor to the CD41 cells. A novel bioreactor was developed that recapitulated aspects of the marrow vascular niche. Polyploid megakaryocytes that were subjected to flow in the bioreactor extended proPLTs and shed PLTs, as confirmed by light microscopy, fluorescence imaging, and flow cytometry. RESULTS: CD34 cells were expanded 100-fold. CD41 cells were expanded 100-fold. Up to 100 PLTs per input megakaryocyte were produced from the bioreactor, for an overall yield of 10(6) PLTs per input CD34 cell. The PLTs externalized P-selectin after activation. DISCUSSION: Functional PLTs can be produced ex vivo on a clinically relevant scale using serum-free culture conditions with a novel stepwise approach and an innovative bioreactor.

Effects of eltrombopag on platelet count and platelet activation in Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome/X-linked thrombocytopenia.

UNLABELLED: Because Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome (WAS) and X-linked thrombocytopenia (XLT) patients have microthrombocytopenia, hemorrhage is a major problem. We asked whether eltrombopag, a thrombopoietic agent, would increase platelet counts, improve platelet activation, and/or reduce bleeding in WAS/XLT patients. In 9 WAS/XLT patients and 8 age-matched healthy controls, platelet activation was assessed by whole blood flow cytometry. Agonist-induced platelet surface activated glycoprotein (GP) IIb-IIIa and P-selectin in WAS/XLT patients were proportional to platelet size and therefore decreased compared with controls. In contrast, annexin V binding showed no differences between WAS/XLT and controls. Eltrombopag treatment resulted in an increased platelet count in 5 out of 8 patients. Among responders to eltrombopag, immature platelet fraction in 3 WAS/XLT patients was significantly less increased compared with 7 pediatric chronic immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) patients. Platelet activation did not improve in 3 WAS/XLT patients whose platelet count improved on eltrombopag. IN CONCLUSION: (1) the reduced platelet activation observed in WAS/XLT is primarily due to the microthrombocytopenia; and (2) although the eltrombopag-induced increase in platelet production in WAS/XLT is less than in ITP, eltrombopag has beneficial effects on platelet count but not platelet activation in the majority of WAS/XLT patients. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT00909363.

A novel inflammatory role for platelets in sickle cell disease.

The severe pain, ischemia and organ damage that characterizes sickle cell disease (SCD) is caused by vaso-occlusion, which is the blockage of blood vessels by heterotypic aggregates of sickled erythrocytes and other cells. Vaso-occlusion is also a vasculopathy involving endothelial cell dysfunction, leukocyte activation, platelet activation and chronic inflammation resulting in the multiple adhesive interactions between cellular elements. Since platelets mediate inflammation as well as thrombosis via release of pro- and anti-inflammatory molecules, we hypothesized that platelets may play an active inflammatory role in SCD by secreting increased amounts of cytokines. Since platelets have been shown to contain mRNA and actively produce proteins, we also hypothesized that SCD platelets may contain increased cytokine mRNA. In this cross-sectional study, we sought to compare both the quantity of cytokines secreted and the cytokine mRNA content, between SCD and control platelets. We measured the secretion of Th1, Th2, and Th17-related cytokines from platelets in a cohort of SCD patients. We simultaneously measured platelet mRNA levels of those cytokines. Platelets from SCD patients secreted increased quantities of IL-1ß, sCD40L, and IL-6 compared to controls. Secretion was increased in patients with alloantibodies. Additionally, mRNA of those cytokines was increased in SCD platelets. Platelets from sickle cell patients secrete increased amounts of inflammatory cytokines, and contain increased cytokine mRNA. These findings suggest a novel immunological role for platelets in SCD vasculopathy, in addition to their thrombotic role, and strengthen the rationale for the use of anti-platelet therapy in SCD.

How low can you go?

In this issue of Blood, Morowski et al use a mouse model of thrombocytopenia to determine the lowest platelet count needed to support thrombosis in a range of thrombosis challenges.

Erythroid transcription factor EKLF/KLF1 mutation causing congenital dyserythropoietic anemia type IV in a patient of Taiwanese origin: review of all reported cases and development of a clinical diagnostic paradigm.

KLF1 is an erythroid specific transcription factor that is involved in erythroid lineage commitment, globin switching and terminal red blood cell maturation. Various mutations of KLF1 have been identified in humans, which have led to both benign and pathological phenotypes. The E325K mutation, within the second zinc finger of the KLF1 gene, has been shown to cause a new form of congenital dyserythropoietic anemia (CDA) now labeled as CDA type IV. We report the fourth documented case of this mutation, and propose a clinical diagnostic model to better identify this disease in other patients. Our patient is a Taiwanese child who presented to us at 8years of age with severe hemolytic anemia, splenomegaly, elevated fetal hemoglobin (HbF), iron overload, and dyserythropoiesis in the bone marrow. KLF1 sequence analysis revealed a G-to-A transition in one allele of exon 3, which resulted in the substitution of a glutamate 325 by a lysine. Flow cytometry analysis revealed decreased protein expression of CD44 on the red blood cells, and decreased red blood cell deformability as measured using an ektacytometer. Blood typing revealed his red blood cells to be Co(a-b-), In(b-), LW(ab-) and Lu(b+), even though DNA testing predicted that he would be Co(a+b-) and LW(a+b-). This newly discovered CDA combines features of a hemoglobinopathy, RBC membrane defect and hereditary persistence of HbF (HPFH) which are not seen in the previous types of CDA. Increased awareness of this phenotype may improve the more prompt and accurate diagnosis of these patients.

Optimizing megakaryocyte polyploidization by targeting multiple pathways of cytokinesis.

BACKGROUND: Large-scale in vitro production of platelets (PLTs) from cord blood stem cells is one goal of stem cell research. One step toward this goal will be to produce polyploid megakaryocytes capable of releasing high numbers of PLTs. Megakaryocyte polyploidization requires distinct cytoskeletal and cellular mechanisms, including actin polymerization, myosin activation, microtubule formation, and increased DNA production. In this study we variably combined inhibition of these principal mechanisms of cytokinesis with the goal of driving polyploidization in megakaryocytes. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Megakaryocytes were derived from umbilical cord blood and cultured with reagents that inhibit distinct mechanisms of cytokinesis: Rho-Rock inhibitor (RRI), Src inhibitor (SI), nicotinamide (NIC), aurora B inhibitor (ABI), and myosin light chain kinase inhibitor (MLCKI). Combinations of reagents were used to determine their interactions and to maximize megakaryocyte ploidy. RESULTS: Treatment with RRI, NIC, SI, and ABI, but not with MLCKI, increased the final ploidy and RRI was the most effective single reagent. RRI and MLCKI, both inhibitors of MLC activation, resulted in opposite ploidy outcomes. Combinations of reagents also increased ploidy and the use of NIC, SI, and ABI was as effective as RRI alone. Addition of MLCKI to NIC, SI, and ABI reached the highest level of polyploidization. CONCLUSION: Megakaryocyte polyploidization results from modulation of a combination of distinct cytokinesis pathways. Reagents targeting distinct cytoskeletal pathways produced additive effects in final megakaryocyte ploidy. The RRI, however, showed no additive effect but produced a high final ploidy due to overlapping inhibition of multiple cytokinesis pathways.

Mapping early conformational changes in alphaIIb and beta3 during biogenesis reveals a potential mechanism for alphaIIbbeta3 adopting its bent conformation.

Current evidence supports a model in which the low-affinity state of the platelet integrin alphaIIbbeta3 results from alphaIIbbeta3 adopting a bent conformation. To assess alphaIIbbeta3 biogenesis and how alphaIIbbeta3 initially adopts the bent conformation, we mapped the conformational states occupied by alphaIIb and beta3 during biogenesis using conformation-specific monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). We found that alphaIIbbeta3 complex formation was not limited by the availability of either free pro-alphaIIb or free beta3, suggesting that other molecules, perhaps chaperones, control complex formation. Five beta3-specific, ligand-induced binding site (LIBS) mAbs reacted with much or all free beta3 but not with beta3 when in complex with mature alphaIIb, suggesting that beta3 adopts its mature conformation only after complex formation. Conversely, 2 alphaIIb-specific LIBS mAbs directed against the alphaIIb Calf-2 region adjacent to the membrane reacted with only minor fractions of free pro-alphaIIb, raising the possibility that pro-alphaIIb adopts a bent conformation early in biogenesis. Our data suggest a working model in which pro-alphaIIb adopts a bent conformation soon after synthesis, and then beta3 assumes its bent conformation by virtue of its interaction with the bent pro-alphaIIb.

alphaIIbbeta3 biogenesis is controlled by engagement of alphaIIb in the calnexin cycle via the N15-linked glycan.

Although much is known about alphaIIbbeta3 structure and function, relatively little is understood about its biogenesis. Thus, we studied the kinetics of pro-alphaIIb production and degradation, focusing on whether proteasomal degradation or the calnexin cycle participates in these processes. In pulse-chase analyses, the time to half-disappearance of pro-alphaIIb (t1/2) was the same in (1) HEK293 cells transfected with (a) alphaIIb plus beta3, (b) alphaIIb alone, (c) mutant V298FalphaIIb plus beta3, or (d) I374TalphaIIb plus beta3; and (2) murine wild-type and beta3-null megakaryocytes. Inhibition of the proteasome prolonged the t1/2 values in both HEK293 cells and murine megakaryocytes. Calnexin coprecipitated with alphaIIb from HEK293 cells transfected with alphaIIb alone, alphaIIb plus beta3, and V298FalphaIIb plus beta3. For proteins in the calnexin cycle, removal of the terminal mannose residue of the middle branch of the core N-linked glycan results in degradation. Inhibition of the enzyme that removes this mannose residue prevented pro-alphaIIb degradation in beta3-null murine megakaryocytes. alphaIIb contains a conserved glycosylation consensus sequence at N15, and an N15Q mutation prevented pro-alphaIIb maturation, complex formation, and degradation. Our findings suggest that pro-alphaIIb engages the calnexin cycle via the N15 glycan and that failure of pro-alphaIIb to complex normally with beta3 results in proteasomal degradation.

Evidence for megakaryocyte engraftment following reduced-intensity conditioning.

Assessment of donor chimerism is becoming increasingly important in patients undergoing reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC) allogeneic bone marrow transplants, due to the possibility of mixed chimeras. This regimen has been used successfully for patients with leukemia and genetic disorders with donor chimerism occurring in the myeloid, lymphoid, and/or erythroid lineages. Less toxic RIC expands the potential application of stem cell transplants to patients with nonmalignant disorders of hematopoiesis, such as the severe form of Glanzmann thrombasthenia, who previously were not considered suitable candidates based on risk-benefit analysis. To assess megakaryocyte/platelet chimerism after stem cell transplantation conducted with RIC, we used restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and sequence analyses of the HPA-3 polymorphism in the megakaryocyte/platelet-specific glycoprotein alphaIIb. In this study we show that at 23 weeks post-RIC, a leukemia patient acquired the HPA-3 donor phenotype at the DNA and platelet RNA levels.

Two novel mutations in the alpha IIb calcium-binding domains identify hydrophobic regions essential for alpha IIbbeta 3 biogenesis.

The recently published crystal structure of the external domains of alphaVbeta3 confirms the prediction that the aminoterminal portion of alphaV, which shares 40% homology with alphaIIb, folds into a beta-propeller structure and that the 4 calcium-binding domains are positioned on the bottom of the propeller. To gain insight into the role of the calcium-binding domains in alphaIIb biogenesis, we characterized mutations in the second and third calcium-binding domains of alphaIIb in 2 patients with Glanzmann thrombasthenia. One patient inherited a Val298Phe mutation in the second domain, and the other patient inherited an Ile374Thr mutation in the third domain. Mammalian cell expression studies were performed with normal and mutant alphaIIb and beta3 cDNA constructs. By flow cytometry, expression of alphaIIb Val298Phe/beta3 in transfected cells was 28% of control, and expression of alphaIIbIle374Thr/beta3 was 11% of control. Pulse-chase analyses showed that both mutant pro-alphaIIb subunits are retained in the endoplasmic reticulum and degraded. Mutagenesis studies of the Val298 and Ile374 residues showed that these highly conserved, branch-chained hydrophobic residues are essential at these positions and that biogenesis and expression of alphaIIbbeta3 is dramatically affected by structural variations in these regions of the calcium-binding domains. Energy calculations derived from a new model of the alphaIIb beta-propeller indicate that these mutations interfere with calcium binding. These data suggest that the alphaIIb calcium-binding domains play a key structural role in the beta-propeller, and that the structural integrity of the calcium-binding domains is critical for integrin biogenesis.

Two new beta3 integrin mutations in Indian patients with Glanzmann thrombasthenia: localization of mutations affecting cysteine residues in integrin beta3.

New mutations in the beta3 integrin subunit have been identified in two unrelated Glanzmann thrombasthenia patients originating from India and Bangladesh. Both patients had histories of excessive bleeding and were found to have Glanzmann thrombasthenia based on absent ADP-induced platelet aggregation. Immunoblotting of platelet lysates of Patient 1 demonstrated reduced levels of alphaIIb and an unexpected high Mr beta3 band of approximately 260,000, with little or no normal-sized beta3. Upon reduction, a weak beta3 band of normal Mr was observed. Platelet lysates of Patient 2 demonstrated undetectable levels of beta3. Sequence analyses identified homozygous mutations in the beta3 genes of both patients. Patient 1 had a C506Y missense mutation resulting in the expression of an unpaired cysteine; we propose that the Mr approximately 260,000 band is a disulfide-bonded beta3 dimer. Patient 2 had an insertion mutation resulting in a frameshift and premature termination. Both mutations affect biogenesis of platelet alphaIIbbeta3 receptors.