Hematopoiesis and stem cells: Enforced differentiation of Dnmt3a-null bone marrow leads to failure with c-Kit mutations driving leukemic transformation

Genome sequencing studies of patient samples have implicated the involvement of various components of the epigenetic machinery in myeloid diseases, including the de novo DNA methyltransferase DNMT3A. We have recently shown that Dnmt3a is essential for hematopoietic stem cell differentiation. Here, we investigated the effect of loss of Dnmt3a on hematopoietic transformation by forcing the normally quiescent hematopoietic stem cells to divide in vivo. Mice transplanted with Dnmt3a-null bone marrow in the absence of wild type support cells succumbed to bone marrow failure (median survival, 328 days) characteristic of myelodysplastic syndromes with symptoms including anemia, neutropenia, bone marrow hyper cellularity, and splenomegaly with myeloid infiltration. Two out of 25 mice developed myeloid leukemia with >20%blasts in the blood and bonemarrow. Four out of 25 primary mice succumbed to myeloproliferative disorders, some of which progressed to secondary leukemia after long latency. Exome sequencing identified cooperating c-Kit mutations found only in the leukemic samples. Ectopic introduction of c-Kit variants into a Dnmt3a-deficient background produced acute leukemia with a short latency (median survival, 67 days). Our data highlight crucial roles of Dnmt3a in normal and malignant hematopoiesis and suggest that a major role for this enzyme is to facilitate developmental progression of progenitor cells at multiple decision checkpoints.