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Isoform-specific involvement of Brpf1 in expansion of adult hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells
Qiuping He1,2 , Mengzhi Hong1,2 , Jincan He1,2 , Weixin Chen1,2 , Meng Zhao1,2 , Wei Zhao1,2,*
1RNA Biomedical Institute, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510120, China
2Key Laboratory of Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Ministry of Education, Guangzhou 510080, China
*Correspondence to:Wei Zhao , Email:zhaowei23@mail.sysu.edu.cn
J Mol Cell Biol, Volume 12, Issue 5, May 2020, 359-371,  https://doi.org/10.1093/jmcb/mjz092
Keyword: Brpf1 inhibitor, OF-1, Brpf1a, Mn1, hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell expansion

Bromodomain-containing proteins are known readers of histone acetylation that regulate chromatin structure and transcription. Although the functions of bromodomain-containing proteins in development, homeostasis, and disease states have been well studied, their role in self-renewal of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs) remains poorly understood. Here, we performed a chemical screen using nine bromodomain inhibitors and found that the bromodomain and PHD finger-containing protein 1 (Brpf1) inhibitor OF-1 enhanced the expansion of Lin−Sca-1+c-Kit+ HSPCs ex vivo without skewing their lineage differentiation potential. Importantly, our results also revealed distinct functions of Brpf1 isoforms in HSPCs. Brpf1b promoted the expansion of HSPCs. By contrast, Brpf1a is the most abundant isoform in adult HSPCs but enhanced HSPC quiescence and decreased the HSPC expansion. Furthermore, inhibition of Brpf1a by OF-1 promoted histone acetylation and chromatin accessibility leading to increased expression of self-renewal-related genes (e.g. Mn1). The phenotypes produced by OF-1 treatment can be rescued by suppression of Mn1 in HSPCs. Our findings demonstrate that this novel bromodomain inhibitor OF-1 can promote the clinical application of HSPCs in transplantation.