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PUM1 mediates the posttranscriptional regulation of human fetal hemoglobin

The fetal-to-adult hemoglobin switching at about the time of birth involves a shift in expression from γ-globin to β-globin in erythroid cells. Effective re-expression of fetal γ-globin can ameliorate sickle cell anemia and β-thalassemia. Despite the physiological and clinical relevance of this swit...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Elagooz, Reem, Dhara, Anita R., Gott, Rose M., Adams, Sarah E., White, Rachael A., Ghosh, Arnab, Ganguly, Shinjini, Man, Yuncheng, Owusu-Ansah, Amma, Mian, Omar Y., Gurkan, Umut A., Komar, Anton A., Ramamoorthy, Mahesh, Gnanapragasam, Merlin Nithya
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: The American Society of Hematology 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9699939/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35667093
http://dx.doi.org/10.1182/bloodadvances.2021006730
Descripción
Sumario:The fetal-to-adult hemoglobin switching at about the time of birth involves a shift in expression from γ-globin to β-globin in erythroid cells. Effective re-expression of fetal γ-globin can ameliorate sickle cell anemia and β-thalassemia. Despite the physiological and clinical relevance of this switch, its posttranscriptional regulation is poorly understood. Here, we identify Pumilo 1 (PUM1), an RNA-binding protein with no previously reported functions in erythropoiesis, as a direct posttranscriptional regulator of β-globin switching. PUM1, whose expression is regulated by the erythroid master transcription factor erythroid Krüppel-like factor (EKLF/KLF1), peaks during erythroid differentiation, binds γ-globin messenger RNA (mRNA), and reduces γ-globin (HBG1) mRNA stability and translational efficiency, which culminates in reduced γ-globin protein levels. Knockdown of PUM1 leads to a robust increase in fetal hemoglobin (∼22% HbF) without affecting β-globin levels in human erythroid cells. Importantly, targeting PUM1 does not limit the progression of erythropoiesis, which provides a potentially safe and effective treatment strategy for sickle cell anemia and β-thalassemia. In support of this idea, we report elevated levels of HbF in the absence of anemia in an individual with a novel heterozygous PUM1 mutation in the RNA-binding domain (p.(His1090Profs∗16); c.3267_3270delTCAC), which suggests that PUM1-mediated posttranscriptional regulation is a critical player during human hemoglobin switching.