Regulation of L-selectin expression by a dominant negative Ikaros protein

Ikaros family members play critical roles in hematopoietic development, yet molecules regulated by Ikaros proteins remain incompletely characterized. To determine the requirements for functional Ikaros proteins, we overexpressed Ik7, a dominant negative Ikaros protein, in human cell lines and hematopoietic progenitor cells. Ik7 is known to block the normal function of other Ikaros family members in human and mouse cells. Retroviral-mediated overexpression of Ik7 affected two distinct, migratory properties of the CEM T-cell line. Ik7 down-regulated L-selectin cell-surface expression, an effect not a result of increased shedding but of a decrease in L-selectin mRNA levels. Ik7 also reduced the spontaneous migration of CEM T cells in 3-D collagen gels. A reduction in L-selectin, cell-surface expression was also induced by Ik7 in CD34+ hematopoietic progenitor cells. In contrast, the Reh B cell line showed an up-regulation of L-selectin, cell-surface levels when expressing Ik7. For the first time, this study defines an effect of Ikaros proteins in the control of migration-related properties and shows that intact Ikaros proteins are important in a cell type-specific manner for the normal regulation of L-selectin expression.