Glia Maturation Factor Gamma (GMFG): A Cytokine-Responsive Protein During Hematopoietic Lineage Development and Its Functional Genomics Analysis

Human hematopoiesis was evaluated using the techniques of controlled stem cell differentiation, two-dimensional gel electrophoresis-based proteomics, and functional genomics. We provide the first report that glia maturation factor gamma (GMFG) is a cytokine-responsive protein in erythropoietin-induced and granulocyte-colony stimulating factor-induced hematopoietic lineage development. Results from global functional genomics analysis indicate that GMFG possesses several other features: hematopoietic tissue-specific gene expression, a promoter concentrated with high-score hematopoiesis-specific transcription factors, and possible molecular coevolution with a rudimentary blood/immune system. On the basis of our findings, we hypothesize that GMFG is a hematopoietic-specific protein that may mediate the pluripotentiality and lineage commitment of human hematopoietic stem cells.