PubMed · 14687032
Decrease of Smad4 gene expression in patients with essential thrombocythaemia may cause an escape from suppression of megakaryopoiesis by transforming growth factor-beta1.
Abstract
Essential thrombocythaemia (ET) is characterized by the abnormal and sustained proliferation of megakaryocytes. The mechanism for this lineage-specific expansion in ET, remains unclear. We have previously reported that transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) is involved in negative feedback regulation of megakaryopoiesis in both healthy volunteers (HV) and patients with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP). The present study found that megakaryocyte colony-forming units (CFU-MK) of ET patients were less sensitive to TGF-beta1 than those of HV. The expression of Smad4 (Sma- and Mad-related protein-4) in CFU-MK of ET patients was reduced in comparison with that of HV. Finally, to confirm that the impaired TGF-beta1 sensitivity was caused by reduced expression of Smad4, we examined Smad4-transfected CFU-MK from ET patients in the presence of TGF-beta1, and verified that the transfectants were indeed as susceptible as CFU-MK from HV to TGF-beta1. Thus it was surmised that one of the mechanisms for impaired sensitivity of CFU-MK to TGF-beta1 is the reduced expression of Smad4.
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Hiroyuki Kuroda, Takuya Matsunaga, Takeshi Terui, Ikuta Tanaka, Rishu Takimoto, Koshi Fujikawa, Tetsuji Takayama, Junji Kato, Yasuo Hirayama, Sumio Sakamaki, Kyuhei Kohda, Yoshiro Niitsu. 2004. Decrease of Smad4 gene expression in patients with essential thrombocythaemia may cause an escape from suppression of megakaryopoiesis by transforming growth factor-beta1.. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2141.2003.04755.x
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