CXCR4 is the receptor for the α-chemokine stromal cell-derived factor 1 (SDF-1) and has been shown to be expressed on a diversity of leukocytes. In this report, the expression of the CXCR4 receptor in cells of megakaryocytic lineage and the role of SDF-1 in megakaryocytopoiesis were investigated. Using flow cytometry in combination with reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), we observed that bone marrow CD34⁺, CD61⁺ cells, blood platelets, and megakaryocytic leukemia cell lines all expressed the CXCR4 receptor. To examine the expression of the CXCR4 receptor on megakaryocyte progenitors (colony-forming units-megakaryocyte [CFU-Meg]), CXCR4-positive and -negative CD34⁺ populations were separated from bone marrow and cultured in a plasma clot culture system. A subpopulation of the CFU-Meg was found in the CXCR4-positive fraction. The functional significance of CXCR4 expression on cells of the megakaryocytic lineage was examined by studying the effects of SDF-1α on migration and proliferation of megakaryocyte progenitor cells in vitro. We found that SDF-1α potently induced megakaryocyte progenitor migration and significantly enhanced adhesion of mature marrow megakaryocytes to endothelium. No marked effects of SDF-1α alone or in combination with thrombopoietin and stem cell factor/kit ligand on megakaryocyte production in vitro were noted. These results demonstrate for the first time that the CXCR4 α-chemokine receptor is expressed on cells of the megakaryocytic lineage from progenitors to platelets and that its ligand SDF-1α may modulate several aspects of megakaryocytopoiesis.

© 1998 by The American Society of Hematology.