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Brief Definitive Report |
Address correspondence to Pier Paolo Pandolfi, Cancer Biology and Genetics Program and Dept. of Pathology, Box 110, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Ave., New York, NY 10021. Phone: (212) 639-6168; Fax: (212) 717-3102; email: p-pandolfi{at}ski.mskcc.org
| Abstract |
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Key Words: cell proliferation apoptosis knockout CML leukemogenesis signal transduction
| Introduction |
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| Materials and Methods |
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Generation of Dok-2/, Double KO (DKO), and Tec-p210bcr/abl/Dok-1/Dok-2 Compound Mutants.
Chimeric mice and F1 offspring were produced as described previously (13). Chimeric males were then mated with 129/Sv females (The Jackson Laboratory) to obtain Dok-2 mutants in a 129/Sv background. Dok-1/ mice (13) and Tec-p210bcr/abl transgenic mice (TM; references 15 and 16) have been described. Dok-1//Dok-2/ mice were obtained by interbreeding Dok-1/ mice with Dok-2/ mice both in 129/Sv background. To obtain Tec-p210bcr/abl/Dok-1/Dok-2 compound mice, Tec-p210bcr/abl TM were at first crossed with Dok-1/ mice (129/Sv) or Dok-2/ mice (129/Sv). F1 offspring were then mated with each other to get Tec-p210bcr/abl/Dok null mice and to balance the genetic background. All mice studies were approved by The Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
Follow-up Design and Leukemia Diagnosis.
Mice were monitored monthly by peripheral blood (PB) counts and smears (biweekly in the case of Tec-p210bcr/abl/Dok-1/Dok-2 compound mutants and BM transplantation). Diagnosis of leukemia was made on the criteria that two consecutive white blood cell counts are >20 x 103/µl. Autopsies were performed on dead or moribund animals as described previously (17). For B220 or CD3 detection, immunohistochemistry was performed on representative sections using antimouse B220 monoclonal antibody (RA3-6B2; BD Biosciences) or a rabbit anti-CD3 polyclonal antibody (DakoCytomation) according to the manufacturer's instructions.
BM Transplantation.
2 x 106 BM cells from WT or Dok-1//Dok-2/ mutant mice were injected via tail vein into lethally irradiated (920 rads) 129/Sv WT mice (6-wk-old female). Recipient mice were monitored and scored positive for disease according to criteria mentioned in the legend to Fig. S2 (see below).
Western Blot and Flow Cytometric Analysis.
These analyses were performed as described previously (13, 18). For Western blot analysis, we used a rabbit polyclonal antiDok-R/Dok2 antibody (Upstate Cell Signaling) to detect Dok-2 protein. To detect Erk 2 protein, we used a polyclonal antiErk 2 antibody (Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Inc.). For flow cytometry, we used the following conjugated antibodies: antic-Kit, antiSca-1, antiMac-1, antiGr-1, anti-F4/80, anti-CD3 complex, anti-B220, anti-CD4, and anti-CD8a. Anti-F4/80 was obtained from Caltag. All other antibodies were from BD Biosciences. Flow cytometry was performed using a FACScan (Becton Dickinson). The data were analyzed using FlowJo software (Tree Star).
Ras GTPase Activation Assay.
Activation of Ras was measured using GST-RBD (Ras-binding domain of Raf [RBD]) pull down assays (19). The underlying premise of this assay is that the RBD binds only to GTP-bound Ras proteins. Mac-1+ cells were isolated from freshly isolated BM cells using CD11b Microbeads (Miltenyi Biotec). Purity (>90%) was confirmed by flow cytometry. Mac-1+ cells were incubated in RPMI/0.1% FCS for 3 h, and then stimulated with 10 ng/ml GM-CSF for 10 min at 37°C. Cells were then lysed in 25 mM Hepes, pH 7.5, 150 mM NaCl, 1% NP-40, 10% glycerol, 25 mM NaF, 10 mM MgCl2, 1 mM EDTA, 2.5 mM sodium deoxycholic, and 1 mM Na3VO4 plus protease inhibitors. An equal amount of cell lysates was incubated with GST-RBD coupled to glutathione beads. Bead-associated Ras (GTP-bound Ras) and total Ras in cell lysates were detected by Western blotting with an antipan-Ras antibody (Transduction Laboratories). GM-CSFinduced Ras activation is measured by normalizing the amount of GTP-bound Ras to the total amount of Ras in cell lysates.
Proliferation, Apoptosis, and In Vitro Colony-forming Assay.
BM cells were flushed from murine femurs and tibiae. 2 x 104 cells were plated in MethoCult M3434 (StemCell Technologies Inc.). Colonies were counted on days 2 (CFU-E), 7 (CFU-GM and BFU-E), and 13 (CFU-GEMM). For proliferation assay of collected cells from in vitro colony-forming assay, 2 x 104 BM cells were plated in MethoCult M3234 with 20 ng/ml IL-3, 50 ng/ml G-CSF, and 20 ng/ml GM-CSF. At day 7, cells were collected from methylcellulose and washed by RPMI/10% FCS and counted. 2.5 x 104 cells were cultured without growth factor for 20 h. [3H]thymidine was then added for 4 h. For proliferation assays of BM cells, contaminating erythrocytes were removed by hypotonic lysis. Mac-1+ cells were isolated using CD11b Microbeads (Miltenyi Biotec). Purity (>90%) was confirmed by flow cytometry. Cells were treated with 10 ng/ml IL-3, 10 ng/ml stem cell factor (SCF), or 10 ng/ml GM-CSF for 42 h. [3H]thymidine was then added for 6 h. For apoptosis analysis, BM cells were cultured as described above. After 48 h, cells were harvested and incubated with anti-CD16/32 to block nonspecific binding. Cells were then stained with antiMac-1APC and annexin V (BD Biosciences) according to the manufacturer's instructions. The percentage of apoptotic cells was determined by FACS analysis (FACSCalibur; Becton Dickinson).
Spectral Karyotyping Analysis.
BM cells from DKO mice were cultured in RPMI 1640/10% FCS with 6 ng/ml IL-3, 10 ng/ml IL-6, 100 ng/ml SCF, and 10 ng/ml BrdU for 18 h. The cells were then prepared for cytogenetic analysis performed using a mouse SkyPaint Kit (Applied Spectral Imaging) according to the manufacturer's instructions.
Online Supplemental Material.
Fig. S1 shows targeted disruption of the Dok-2 gene. Fig. S2 shows results of adoptive transfer of BM cells from DKO mice with myeloproliferative disease (MPD). Fig. S3 shows FACS analysis of BM and spleen cells from leukemic Tec-p210bcr/abl, Tec-p210bcr/abl/Dok-1/, and Tec-p210bcr/abl/Dok-2/ mice and survival curves of these compound mutants. Table S1 shows the data of PB cell count. Figs. S1S3 and Table S1 are available at http://www.jem.org/cgi/content/full/jem.20041306/DC1.
| Results and Discussion |
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Therefore, we generated DKO mutants. These mutants were also developmentally normal (as revealed by pathological analysis of all organs; unpublished data) and fertile. However, monthly postmortem pathological, flow cytometric, and morphological assessments of the various hematopoietic organs from DKO mutants unraveled striking differences with respect to the Dok-1 and Dok-2 single KO mutants. In fact, DKO mutants developed at complete penetrance a CML-like MPD at 1012 mo of age (Fig. 1 A; refer to Materials and Methods). DKO displayed a progressive increase in white blood cell counts in the PB after 4 mo of age (Fig. 1 B and Table S1, which is available at http://www.jem.org/cgi/content/full/jem.20041306/DC1; at 4 mo: WT [n = 6] 9,800 ± 2,078, DKO [n = 6] 9,725 ± 3,007; at 8 mo: WT [n = 6] 10,033 ± 1,286, DKO [n = 7] 15,575 ± 2,326; at 12 mo: WT [n = 6] 9,200 ± 3,268, DKO [n = 8] 24,180 ± 4,540). At leukemia onset, DKO mice invariably displayed a marked splenomegaly (Fig. 1 C; WT [n = 3] 0.051 ± 0.005 g, DKO [n = 3] 0.081 ± 0.02 g) as well as PB and BM hypercellularity (Fig. 1 D and Table S1). BM and spleen were both predominantly infiltrated by myeloid cells that retained the ability to terminally differentiate (Fig. 1 D). Automated and differential counts in the PB revealed a marked leukocytosis caused by an increase in the number of neutrophils and monocytes (Table S1). Interestingly, erythrocytes and platelets number counts remained relatively normal at this stage (Table S1). The increase in PB cellularity was accompanied by the appearance of undifferentiated blasts in the PB (Fig. 1 E and Table S1). Flow cytometric analysis of PB, BM, and spleen confirmed the expansion of the differentiated myeloid compartment (increase in the percentage of Mac-1+, Gr-1+, and Mac-1+ F4/80+ cells with a concomitant decrease in the percentage of B220+ [B cell] and CD3+ [T cell] cells) as well as the presence of undifferentiated cells in the PB (Sca-1+ cells: WT [n = 4] 6.5 ± 4.3%, DKO [n = 4] 13.5 ± 2.9%; Fig. 1, FH). Colony-forming assays in methylcellulose from BM cells of DKO diseased mice revealed the expansion of myeloid progenitors (Fig. 1 I). A higher number of progenitors (CFU-GM) from BM cells of DKO mice was already observed in the preleukemic phase (4 mo of age; Fig. 2 A). Next, we assessed whether the MPD was transplantable (refer to Materials and Methods). To this end, BM cells from disease DKO mice or WT controls were transplanted into lethally irradiated recipient mice. Five out of the seven recipient mice that were transplanted with cells from DKO mice developed overt disease (Fig. S2 A) with splenomegaly (Fig. S2 B) and a marked increase in the percentage of Mac-1+ Gr-1+ cells in the spleen (Fig. S2 C). Thus, at onset, the MPD is fully transplantable, hence demonstrating the cell autonomy of the disorder. We also studied whether the MPD was the result of a clonal evolution by performing spectral karyotyping analysis (refer to Materials and Methods) on BM cells from diseased DKO mice. At least 12 metaphase cells per mouse (n = 4) were analyzed and no karyological abnormalities were found.
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As Dok-1 and Dok-2 can act as negative Ras regulator (1214), we tested the level of Ras activation upon GM-CSF stimulation in Mac-1+ BM cells, which are known to normally coexpress these two proteins, from single and DKO mice and WT mice. DKO cells indeed displayed elevated levels of Ras activation (Fig. 2, E and F). Furthermore, we observed a marked elevation of MAP kinase (p44 and p42 Erk) activation upon GM-CSF stimulation in the BM from DKO mutants (Fig. 2 G). Thus, the concomitant inactivation of Dok-1 and Dok-2 causes profound biological and molecular outcomes, which result in overt disease at full penetrance.
On the basis of what we observed in DKO mutants, Dok-1 and Dok-2 may therefore oppose the leukemogenic potential of p210bcr/abl. To test this hypothesis genetically in vivo, we made use of a Tec-p210bcr/abl transgenic model. Tec-p210bcr/abl TM are faithful animal models of CML as they develop a chronic leukemic phase after a long latency, followed by an acute terminal phase that is reminiscent of a CML blastic crisis with appearance of blasts in the PB and organ infiltration (15, 16). Therefore, we crossed Tec-p210bcr/abl TM with Dok-1/ and Dok-2/ mutants and assessed whether their inactivation would impact on the biology of the disease. Inactivation of either Dok-1 or Dok-2 accelerated chronic phase onset in compound mutants (Fig. 3, A and B). By contrast, the distinctive features of the chronic phase in Tec-p210bcr/abl TM were not perturbed by Dok-1 or Dok-2 inactivation as revealed by comparable flow cytometric and morphological profiles of the major hematopoietic organs (Fig. S3 A and unpublished data). Furthermore, and importantly, Dok-1 or Dok-2 inactivation accelerated the onset of the fatal blastic phase of the disease resulting in a marked reduction in overall survival in the compound mutants (Fig. 3, CF, and Fig. S2, B and C; mean survival of Dok-1 crosses: Tec-p210bcr/abl/WT: 324.7 ± 50.0 d; Tec-p210bcr/abl/Dok-1+/: 307.4 ± 67.1 d; Tec-p210bcr/abl/Dok-1/: 284.9 ± 65.4 d; mean survival of Dok-2 crosses: Tec-p210bcr/abl/WT: 320.9 ± 54.8 d; Tec-p210bcr/abl/Dok-2+/: 282.7 ± 96.0 d; p210bcr/abl/Dok-2/: 270.5 ± 48.7 d) as well as in shortening of the chronic phase (Dok-1 crosses: Tec-p210bcr/abl/WT [n = 10] 84.6 ± 46.3 d; Tec-p210bcr/abl/Dok-1+/ [n = 21] 78.2 ± 47.5 d; Tec-p210bcr/abl/Dok-1/ [n = 9] 78.2 ± 44.1 d; Dok-2 crosses: Tec-p210bcr/abl/WT [n = 8] 83.8 ± 31.1 d; Tec-p210bcr/abl/Dok-2+/ [n = 13] 76.9 ± 39.6 d; Tec-p210bcr/abl/Dok-2/ [n = 9] 70.0 ± 27.7 d). Postmortem analysis of compound mutants in various genotypes did not reveal qualitative differences in the biology and cellularity of the blast crisis. In mice from all genotypes, blasts and myeloid differentiating cells (e.g., neutrophils) were found to infiltrate solid organs such as the lung (Fig. 3, CF). By contrast, a major difference was observed in analyzing the intestinal tract of the various compound mutants. Approximately 25% of the Tec-p210bcr/abl/Dok-2/ mutants analyzed were found to develop an aggressive and infiltrating lymphoma of the small intestine of B cell origin (Fig. 3, GJ). By contrast, this malignancy was not observed in the Tec-p210bcr/abl/Dok-1/ mutants analyzed (Fig. 3 J).
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| Acknowledgments |
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We thank B. Clarkson, D. Wisniewski, A. Strife, H. Matsushita, P. Scaglioni, T. Maeda, L-F. Cai, L. DiSantis, J. Lauchle, K. Shannon, and Y. Yamanashi for advice and discussions, and V. Sahi, M. Jiao, and M. Leversha for technical assistance.
Supported by a grant (CA-64593) from the National Cancer Institute to P.P. Pandolfi.
The authors have no conflicting financial interests.
Submitted: 30 June 2004
Accepted: 17 November 2004
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