| First Author | Martínez-Valiente C | Year | 2021 |
| Journal | Int J Mol Sci | Volume | 22 |
| Issue | 13 | PubMed ID | 34203454 |
| Mgi Jnum | J:332548 | Mgi Id | MGI:6753415 |
| Doi | 10.3390/ijms22136963 | Citation | Martinez-Valiente C, et al. (2021) Aberrant Alternative Splicing in U2af1/Tet2 Double Mutant Mice Contributes to Major Hematological Phenotypes. Int J Mol Sci 22(13) |
| abstractText | Mutations in splicing factors are recurrent somatic alterations identified in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and they frequently coincide with mutations in epigenetic factors. About 25% of patients present concurrent mutations in such pathways, suggesting a cooperative role in the pathogenesis of MDS. We focused on the splicing factor U2AF1 involved in the recognition of the 3' splice site during pre-mRNA splicing. Using a CRISPR/Cas9 system, we created heterozygous mice with a carboxy-terminal truncated U2af1 allele (U2af1(mut/+)), studied the U2af1(mut/+) hematopoietic system, and did not observe any gross differences in both young (12-13 weeks) and old (23 months) U2af1(mut/+) mice, except for a reduction in size of approximately 20%. However, hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells lacked reconstitution capacity in transplantation assays and displayed an aberrant RNA splicing by RNA sequencing. We also evaluated U2af1(mut/+) in conjunction with Tet2-deficiency. Novel double mutant U2af1(mut/+)Tet2(-/-) mice showed increased monogranulocytic precursors. Hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells were also enhanced and presented functional and transcriptomic alterations. Nonetheless, U2af1(mut/+)Tet2(-/-) mice did not succumb to MDS disease over a 6-month observation period. Collectively, our data suggest that cooperation between mutant U2af1 and Tet2 loss is not sufficient for MDS initiation in mice. |
