Matrix Gla protein maintains normal and malignant hematopoietic progenitor cells by interacting with bone morphogenetic protein-4
Kana Kuronuma,
Aya Yokoi,
Tomoya Fukuoka,
Muneaki Miyata,
Akio Maekawa,
Satowa Tanaka,
Leo Matsubara,
Chie Goto,
Miki Matsuo,
Hao-Wei Han,
Mai Tsuruta,
Haruka Murata,
Hikari Okamoto,
Natsumi Hasegawa,
Shigetaka Asano,
Mitsuhiro Ito
Affiliations
Kana Kuronuma
Laboratory of Hematology, Division of Medical Biophysics, Kobe University Graduate School of Health Sciences, 7-10-2 Tomogaoka, Suma-ku, Kobe 654-0142, Japan
Aya Yokoi
Laboratory of Hematology, Division of Medical Biophysics, Kobe University Graduate School of Health Sciences, 7-10-2 Tomogaoka, Suma-ku, Kobe 654-0142, Japan
Tomoya Fukuoka
Laboratory of Hematology, Division of Medical Biophysics, Kobe University Graduate School of Health Sciences, 7-10-2 Tomogaoka, Suma-ku, Kobe 654-0142, Japan
Muneaki Miyata
Division of Pathogenetic Signaling, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine, CREST, Japan Science and Technology Agency, 1-5-6 Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe, 650-0047, Japan
Akio Maekawa
Laboratory of Hematology, Division of Medical Biophysics, Kobe University Graduate School of Health Sciences, 7-10-2 Tomogaoka, Suma-ku, Kobe 654-0142, Japan
Satowa Tanaka
Laboratory of Hematology, Division of Medical Biophysics, Kobe University Graduate School of Health Sciences, 7-10-2 Tomogaoka, Suma-ku, Kobe 654-0142, Japan
Leo Matsubara
Laboratory of Hematology, Division of Medical Biophysics, Kobe University Graduate School of Health Sciences, 7-10-2 Tomogaoka, Suma-ku, Kobe 654-0142, Japan
Chie Goto
Laboratory of Hematology, Division of Medical Biophysics, Kobe University Graduate School of Health Sciences, 7-10-2 Tomogaoka, Suma-ku, Kobe 654-0142, Japan
Miki Matsuo
Laboratory of Hematology, Division of Medical Biophysics, Kobe University Graduate School of Health Sciences, 7-10-2 Tomogaoka, Suma-ku, Kobe 654-0142, Japan
Hao-Wei Han
Research Organization for Nano & Life Innovation, Waseda University, 3-4-1 Okubo, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 159-8555, Japan
Mai Tsuruta
Laboratory of Hematology, Division of Medical Biophysics, Kobe University Graduate School of Health Sciences, 7-10-2 Tomogaoka, Suma-ku, Kobe 654-0142, Japan
Haruka Murata
Laboratory of Hematology, Division of Medical Biophysics, Kobe University Graduate School of Health Sciences, 7-10-2 Tomogaoka, Suma-ku, Kobe 654-0142, Japan
Hikari Okamoto
Laboratory of Hematology, Division of Medical Biophysics, Kobe University Graduate School of Health Sciences, 7-10-2 Tomogaoka, Suma-ku, Kobe 654-0142, Japan
Natsumi Hasegawa
Laboratory of Hematology, Division of Medical Biophysics, Kobe University Graduate School of Health Sciences, 7-10-2 Tomogaoka, Suma-ku, Kobe 654-0142, Japan
Shigetaka Asano
Research Organization for Nano & Life Innovation, Waseda University, 3-4-1 Okubo, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 159-8555, Japan
Mitsuhiro Ito
Laboratory of Hematology, Division of Medical Biophysics, Kobe University Graduate School of Health Sciences, 7-10-2 Tomogaoka, Suma-ku, Kobe 654-0142, Japan; Research Organization for Nano & Life Innovation, Waseda University, 3-4-1 Okubo, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 159-8555, Japan; Corresponding author.
Matrix Gla protein (MGP), a modulator of the BMP-SMAD signals, inhibits arterial calcification in a Glu γ-carboxylation dependent manner but the role of MGP highly expressed in a subset of bone marrow (BM) mesenchymal stem/stromal cells is unknown. Here we provide evidence that MGP might be a niche factor for both normal and malignant myelopoiesis. When mouse BM hematopoietic cells were cocultured with mitomycin C-treated BM stromal cells in the presence of anti-MGP antibody, growth of hematopoietic cells was reduced by half, and maintenance of long-term culture-initiating cells (LTC-ICs) was profoundly attenuated. Antibody-mediated blockage of MGP also inhibited growth (by a fifth) and cobblestone formation (by half) of stroma-dependent MB-1 myeloblastoma cells. MGP was undetectable in normal hematopoietic cells but was expressed in various mesenchymal cells and was aberrantly high in MB-1 cells. MGP and bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-4 were co-induced in stromal cells cocultured with both normal hematopoietic cells and MB-1 myeloblastoma cells in an oscillating several days-periodic manner. BMP-2 was also induced in stromal cells cocultured with normal hematopoietic cells but was barely expressed when cocultured with MB-1 cells. GST-pulldown and luciferase reporter assays showed that uncarboxylated MGP interacted with BMP-4 and that anti-MGP antibody abolished this interaction. LDN-193189, a selective BMP signaling inhibitor, inhibited growth and cobblestone formation of MB-1 cells. The addition of warfarin, a selective inhibitor of vitamin K-dependent Glu γ-carboxylation, did not affect MB-1 cell growth, suggesting that uncarboxylated MGP has a biological effect in niche. These results indicate that MGP may maintain normal and malignant hematopoietic progenitor cells, possibly by modulating BMP signals independently of Glu γ-carboxylation. Aberrant MGP by leukemic cells and selective induction of BMP-4 relative to BMP-2 in stromal cells might specify malignant niche.
