The orphan nuclear receptor EAR-2 (NR2F6) inhibits hematopoietic cell differentiation and induces myeloid dysplasia in vivo

BACKGROUND: In patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), bone marrow cells have an increased predisposition to apoptosis, yet MDS cells outcompete normal bone marrow (BM)-- suggesting that factors regulating growth potential may be important in MDS. We previously identified v-Erb A related-2 (EAR-2, NR2F6) as a gene involved in control of growth ability. METHODS: Bone marrow obtained from C57BL/6 mice was transfected with a retrovirus containing EAR-2-IRES-GFP. Ex vivo transduced cells were flow sorted. In some experiments cells were cultured in vitro, in other experiments cells were injected into lethally irradiated recipients, along with non-transduced bone marrow cells. Short-hairpin RNA silencing EAR-2 was also introduced into bone marrow cells cultured ex vivo. RESULTS: Here, we show that EAR-2 inhibits maturation of normal BM in vitro and in vivo and that EAR-2 transplant chimeras demonstrate key features of MDS. Competitive repopulation of lethally irradiated murine hosts with EAR-2-transduced BM cells resulted in increased engraftment and increased colony formation in serial replating experiments. Recipients of EAR-2-transduced grafts had hypercellular BM, erythroid dysplasia, abnormal localization of immature precursors and increased blasts; secondary transplantation resulted in acute leukemia. Animals were cytopenic, having reduced numbers of erythrocytes, monocytes and granulocytes. Suspension culture confirmed that EAR-2 inhibits granulocytic and monocytic differentiation, while knockdown induced granulocytic differentiation. We observed a reduction in the number of BFU-E and CFU-GM colonies and the size of erythroid and myeloid colonies. Serial replating of transduced hematopoietic colonies revealed extended replating potential in EAR-2-overexpressing BM, while knockdown reduced re-plating ability. EAR-2 functions by recruitment of histone deacetylases, and inhibition of differentiation in 32D cells is dependent on the DNA binding domain. CONCLUSIONS: This data suggest that NR2F6 inhibits maturation of normal BM in vitro and in vivo and that the NR2F6 transplant chimera system demonstrates key features of MDS, and could provide a mouse model for MDS. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s40364-018-0149-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.