The tsA58 simian virus 40 large tumor antigen disrupts megakaryocyte differentiation in transgenic mice

Thrombocytopenia is a condition of multiple etiologies affecting the megakaryocyte lineage. To perturb this lineage in transgenic mice, the tsA58 mutation of the simian virus 40 large tumor antigen was targeted to megakaryocytes using the platelet factor 4 promoter. Ten of 17 transgenic lines generated exhibited low platelet levels, each line displaying a distinct, heritable level of thrombocytopenia. Within a line, the degree of the platelet reduction correlated directly with transgene zygosity. The platelet level could be further reduced by the inactivation of one copy of the endogenous retinoblastoma gene. Western blot analysis detected large tumor antigen protein in the most severely affected lines; less affected lines were below the level of detection. Platelets and megakaryocytes from thrombocytopenic mice exhibited morphological abnormalities. Mice with either normal or reduced platelet levels developed megakaryocytic malignancies with a mean age of onset of about 8 months. There was no correlation between severity of thrombocytopenia and onset of malignancy. These mice provide a defined genetic model for thrombocytopenia, and for megakaryocytic neoplasia, and implicate the retinoblastoma protein in the process of megakaryocyte differentiation.