Functional interaction of erythropoietin and stem cell factor receptors is essential for erythroid colony formation

Production of mature erythrocytes requires multiple growth factors, but we do not know how their actions are coordinated. Here we show that erythroid progenitors from erythropoietin receptor (Epo-R)(−/−) fetal livers, infected in vitro with a retrovirus expressing the wild-type Epo-R, require addition of both Epo and stem cell factor (SCF) to form colony-forming unit erythroid (CFU-E) colonies. Thus, a functional interaction between KIT and the Epo-R, similar to what we reported in cultured cells, is essential for the function of CFU-E progenitors. In contrast, CFU-E colony formation in vitro by normal fetal liver progenitors requires only Epo; the essential interaction between activated KIT and the Epo-R must have occurred in vivo before or at the CFU-E progenitor stage. Using truncated dominant-negative mutant Epo-Rs, we show that KIT does not activate the Epo-R by inducing its dimerization, but presumably does so by phosphorylating tyrosine residue(s) in its cytosolic domain. By expressing mutant Epo-Rs containing only one of eight cytosolic tyrosines, we show that either tyrosine residue Y464 or Y479 suffices for Epo-dependent cell proliferation. However, only Epo-R F7Y479 is capable of supporting erythroid colony formation when expressed in Epo-R(−/−) fetal liver cells, indicating that Y464 either cannot send a differentiation signal or fails to respond to SCF/KIT activation. This work employs a novel experimental system to study the function of growth factors and their receptors in normal hematopoiesis.