Inducible Fli-1 gene deletion in adult mice modifies several myeloid lineage commitment decisions and accelerates proliferation arrest and terminal erythrocytic differentiation.

This study investigated the role of the ETS transcription factor Fli-1 in adult myelopoiesis using new transgenic mice allowing inducible Fli-1 gene deletion. Fli-1 deletion in adult induced mild thrombocytopenia associated with a drastic decrease in large mature megakaryocytes number. Bone marrow bipotent megakaryocytic-erythrocytic progenitors (MEPs) increased by 50% without increase in erythrocytic and megakaryocytic common myeloid progenitor progeny, suggesting increased production from upstream stem cells. These MEPs were almost unable to generate pure colonies containing large mature megakaryocytes, but generated the same total number of colonies mainly identifiable as erythroid colonies containing a reduced number of more differentiated cells. Cytological and fluorescence-activated cell sorting analyses of MEP progeny in semisolid and liquid cultures confirmed the drastic decrease in large mature megakaryocytes but revealed a surprisingly modest (50%) reduction of CD41-positive cells indicating the persistence of a megakaryocytic commitment potential. Symmetrical increase and decrease of monocytic and granulocytic progenitors were also observed in the progeny of purified granulocytic-monocytic progenitors and common myeloid progenitors. In summary, this study indicates that Fli-1 controls several lineages commitment decisions at the stem cell, MEP, and granulocytic-monocytic progenitor levels, stimulates the proliferation of committed erythrocytic progenitors at the expense of their differentiation, and is a major regulator of late stages of megakaryocytic differentiation.