Role of Ets-1 in erythroid differentiation

Members of the Ets gene family are known to be expressed in the hematopoietic tissue and some of them play a pivotal role in normal hematopoietic cell development. Ets-1 gene expression was analyzed in Friend Leukemia Cells (FLC) induced to erythroid differentiation by DMSO. We show that the level of Ets-1 protein and its binding activity decreases in FLC along erythroid differentiation of primary human progenitors. The same behavior was observed during normal erythroid differentiation. Moreover, FLC constitutively expressing Ets-1 show a decrease in TfR gene expression, globin mRNA and hemoglobin synthesis. These data indicate that a decrease in Ets-1 binding activity is required for a normal erythroid maturation and that a deregulated expression of this transcription factor may interfere with terminal erythroid differentiation.