Biological significance of chemokine receptor expression by normal human megakaryoblasts

The aim of this study was to learn more on the role of chemokines in the regulation of human megakryopoiesis. Normal human megakaryoblasts were expanded in serum-free liquid cultures and subsequently (1) phenotyped for expression of various chemokine receptors, (2) evaluated if chemokine receptors which they express are functional after stimulation by chemokines (calcium flux assay, chemotaxis, phosphorylation of MAPK-p42/44 and AKT proteins), and (3) investigated for expression and secretion of selected chemokines by employing RT-PCR and ELISA assays, respectively. In addition we also phenotyped peripheral blood platelets for expression of chemokine receptors and chemokines. We found that while human megakaryoblasts express several chemokine receptors (CXCR4, CCR6, CCR8, CCR5, CCR2 and CXCR3), CXCR4 was the only receptor detectable by FACS on human platelets. Moreover, among various chemokines tested, only SDF-1 (CXCR4 ligand) stimulated calcium flux and chemotaxis in normal human megakaryoblasts and phosphorylated MAPK-p42/44 and AKT in these cells. Although mRNAs for several chemokines were detectable by RT-PCR in normal human megakaryoblasts, only RANTES, IL-8, MCP-1 and PF-4 were found to be secreted by these cells. Finally we noticed that no chemokine tested in this study affected CFU-Meg colony formation by human CD34+ cells in serum-free cultures. We conclude that from all the chemokine receptor-chemokine axes tested, only SDF-1-CXCR4 axis was functional in assays employed in our studies, which further support the view that this axis plays a privileged role in regulating normal human megakaryopoiesis.