Dual actions of Meis1 inhibit erythroid progenitor development and sustain general hematopoietic cell proliferation

Myeloid ecotropic viral integration site 1 (Meis1) forms a heterodimer with Pbx1 that augments Hox-dependent gene expression and is associated with leukemogenesis and HSC self-renewal. Here we identified 2 independent actions of Meis1 in hematopoietic development: one regulating cellular proliferation and the other involved in megakaryocyte lineage development. First, we found that endogenous Mesp1 indirectly induces Meis1 and Meis2 in endothelial cells derived from embryonic stem cells. Overexpression of Meis1 and Meis2 greatly enhanced the formation of hematopoietic colonies from embryonic stem cells, with the exception of erythroid colonies, by maintaining hematopoietic progenitor cells in a state of proliferation. Second, overexpression of Meis1 repressed the development of early erythroid progenitors, acting in vivo at the megakaryocyte-erythroid progenitor stage to skew development away from erythroid generation and toward megakaryocyte development. This previously unrecognized action of Meis1 may explain the embryonic lethality observed in Meis1(-/-) mice that arises from failure of lymphatic-venous separation and can result as a consequence of defective platelet generation. These results show that Meis1 exerts 2 independent functions, with its role in proliferation of hematopoietic progenitors acting earlier in development from its influence on the fate choice at the megakaryocyte-erythroid progenitor between megakaryocytic and erythroid development.