Lymphopoiesis in transgenic mice over-expressing Artemis.

Artemis is a factor of the non-homologous end joining pathway involved in DNA double-strand break repair that has a critical role in V(D)J recombination. Mutations in DCLRE1C/ARTEMIS gene result in radiosensitive severe combined immunodeficiency in humans owing to a lack of mature T and B cells. Given the known drawbacks of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), gene therapy appears as a promising alternative for these patients. However, the safety of an unregulated expression of Artemis has to be established. We developed a transgenic mouse model expressing human Artemis under the control of the strong CMV early enhancer/chicken beta actin promoter through knock-in at the ROSA26 locus to analyze this issue. Transgenic mice present a normal development, maturation and function of T and B cells with no signs of lymphopoietic malignancies for up to 15 months. These results suggest that the over-expression of Artemis in mice (up to 40 times) has no deleterious effects in early and mature lymphoid cells and support the safety of gene therapy as a possible curative treatment for Artemis-deficient patients.

Developmental changes in human megakaryopoiesis.

BACKGROUND: The molecular bases of the cellular changes that occur during human megakaryocyte (MK) ontogeny remain unknown, and may be important for understanding the significance of MK differentiation from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) METHODS: We optimized the differentiation of MKs from hESCs, and compared these with MKs obtained from primary human hematopoietic tissues at different stages of development. RESULTS: Transcriptome analyses revealed a close relationship between hESC-derived and fetal liver-derived MKs, and between neonate-derived and adult-derived MKs. Major changes in the expression profiles of cell cycle and transcription factors (TFs), including MYC and LIN28b, and MK-specific regulators indicated that MK maturation progresses during ontogeny towards an increase in MK ploidy and a platelet-forming function. Important genes, including CXCR4, were regulated by an on-off mechanism during development. DISCUSSION: Our analysis of the pattern of TF network and signaling pathways was consistent with a growing specialization of MKs towards hemostasis during ontogeny, and support the idea that MKs derived from hESCs reflect primitive hematopoiesis.

V(D)J and immunoglobulin class switch recombinations: a paradigm to study the regulation of DNA end-joining.

The immune system is the site of intense DNA damage/modification, which occur during the development and maturation of B and T lymphocytes. V(D)J recombination is initiated by the Rag1 and Rag2 proteins and the formation of a DNA double-strand break (DNA dsb). This DNA lesion is repaired through the use of the non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ) pathway, several factors of which have been identified through the survey of immunodeficient conditions in humans and mice. Upon antigenic recognition in secondary lymphoid organs, mature B cells further diversify their repertoire through class switch recombination (CSR). CSR is a region-specific rearrangement process triggered by the activation-induced cytidine deaminase factor and also proceeds through the introduction of DNA dsb. However, unlike V(D)J recombination, CSR does not rely strictly on NHEJ for the repair of the DNA lesion. Instead, CSR, but not V(D)J recombination, requires the major factors of the DNA damage response. V(D)J recombination and CSR thus represent an interesting paradigm to study the regulation among the various DNA repair pathways.