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Transcriptional control of megakaryocyte development

Oncogene volume 26, pages 6795–6802 (2007)Cite this article

Abstract

Megakaryocytes are highly specialized cells that arise from a bipotent megakaryocytic-erythroid progenitor (MEP). This developmental leap requires coordinated activation of megakaryocyte-specific genes, radical changes in cell cycle properties, and active prevention of erythroid differentiation. These programs result from upregulation of megakaryocyte-selective transcription factors, downregulation of erythroid-selective transcription factors and ongoing mediation of common erythro-megakaryocytic transcription factors. Unlike most developmental programs, no single lineage-unique family of master regulators exerts executive control over the megakaryocytic plan. Rather, an assemblage of non-unique factors and signals converge to determine lineage and differentiation. In human megakaryopoiesis, hereditary disorders of platelet production have confirmed contributions from three distinct transcription factor families. Murine models have extended this repertoire to include multiple additional factors. At a mechanistic level, the means by which these non-unique factors collaborate in the establishment of a perfectly unique cell type remains a central question.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Kamal Elagib and Ivo Mihaylov for ongoing discussions on megakaryocytic transcriptional regulation. The study has been supported by NIH Grants CA100057 and CA93735.

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    A N Goldfarb

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Goldfarb, A. Transcriptional control of megakaryocyte development. Oncogene 26, 6795–6802 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.onc.1210762

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