Mouse model of congenital polycythemia: Homologous replacement of murine gene by mutant human erythropoietin receptor gene

V Divoky, Z Liu, TM Ryan, JF Prchal… - Proceedings of the …, 2001 - National Acad Sciences
V Divoky, Z Liu, TM Ryan, JF Prchal, TM Townes, JT Prchal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2001National Acad Sciences
Mutations causing truncations of the cytoplasmic domain of the human erythropoietin
receptor (EPOR) result in a dominantly inherited disorder—primary familial congenital
polycythemia. This disorder is characterized by increased numbers of erythrocytes
(polycythemia) and by in vitro hypersensitivity of erythroid precursors to erythropoietin. The
consequences of EPOR truncation in nonerythroid tissues are unknown. We replaced the
murine EPOR gene with a wild-type human EPOR gene and a mutant human EPOR gene …
Mutations causing truncations of the cytoplasmic domain of the human erythropoietin receptor (EPOR) result in a dominantly inherited disorder—primary familial congenital polycythemia. This disorder is characterized by increased numbers of erythrocytes (polycythemia) and by in vitro hypersensitivity of erythroid precursors to erythropoietin. The consequences of EPOR truncation in nonerythroid tissues are unknown. We replaced the murine EPOR gene with a wild-type human EPOR gene and a mutant human EPOR gene that we initially identified in a patient with polycythemia. This mutation leads to an EPOR truncated after the first tyrosine residue of the intracellular domain. Mice heterozygous for this mutant allele and a wild-type human EPOR allele mimicked the human disorder. Interestingly, mice that were homozygous for the mutant human allele were severely polycythemic but viable. Our results provide a model for functional studies of EPOR-triggered signaling pathways in erythropoiesis. These animals can now be used to investigate the molecular pathophysiology of this gain-of-function EPOR mutation in erythroid tissue and in those nonerythroid tissues that express EPOR.
National Acad Sciences