Substitution of Thr572 to Ala in mouse c-Myb attenuates progression of early erythroid differentiation

Sci Rep. 2020 Sep 1;10(1):14381. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-71267-5.

Abstract

The expression level of transcription factor c-Myb oscillates during hematopoiesis. Fbw7 promotes ubiquitin-mediated degradation of c-Myb, which is dependent on phosphorylation of Thr572. To investigate the physiological relevance of Fbw7-mediated c-Myb degradation, we generated mutant mice carrying c-Myb-T572A (TA). Homozygous mutant (TA/TA) mice exhibited a reduction in the number of peripheral red blood cells and diminished erythroblasts in bone marrow, presumably as a result of failure during erythroblast differentiation. We found that c-Myb high-expressing cells converged in the Lin-CD71+ fraction, and the expression of c-Myb was higher in TA/TA mice than in wild-type mice. Moreover, TA/TA mice had an increased proportion of the CD71+ subset in Lin- cells. The c-Myb level in the Lin-CD71+ subset showed three peaks, and the individual c-Myb level was positively correlated with that of c-Kit, a marker of undifferentiated cells. Ultimately, the proportion of c-Mybhi subgroup was significantly increased in TA/TA mice compared with wild-type mice. These results indicate that a delay in reduction of c-Myb protein during an early stage of erythroid differentiation creates its obstacle in TA/TA mice. In this study, we showed the T572-dependent downregulation of c-Myb protein is required for proper differentiation in early-stage erythroblasts, suggesting the in vivo significance of Fbw7-mediated c-Myb degradation.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Cell Differentiation / genetics*
  • Erythroblasts / metabolism*
  • F-Box-WD Repeat-Containing Protein 7 / metabolism
  • Female
  • Gene Knock-In Techniques
  • HeLa Cells
  • Hematopoiesis / genetics*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Mice
  • Mice, Inbred C57BL
  • Mice, Transgenic
  • Mutant Proteins / metabolism*
  • Phosphorylation / genetics
  • Proteolysis
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myb / genetics*
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myb / metabolism*
  • Transfection

Substances

  • F-Box-WD Repeat-Containing Protein 7
  • Fbxw7 protein, mouse
  • Mutant Proteins
  • Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-myb