Analysis of gene expression changes in fetal erythroid cells obtained from mice with Csnk2b gene conditional deletion in the hematopoietic system.

Protein Kinase CK2 is a pleiotropic and constitutively expressed enzyme (phosphotransferase) usually present as a tetrameric complex of two catalytic alpha and two regulatory beta subunits. Alpha and beta proteins can also work independently from the holoenzyme exerting different functions on other protein targets. It is well known the CK2 role in promoting cell survival and proliferation and in sustaining the growth of many hematological malignances. However, its physiological role in hematopoiesis, in particular in erythropoiesis is still unknown. Our analysis was focused on the hematopoietic functions of the beta subunit through the generation of conditional KO mice for Csnk2b gene in the hematopoietic system. Our purpose was to asses if CK2b plays a role in the development of erythroid cells. To this aim, we performed a mRNA sequencing analysis of erythroid TER119+ cells purified from control (Csnk2b+/+) and KO (Csnk2b-/-) embryos and here we report a complete list of the genes resulted to be differentially expressed. Csnk2b conditional KO mice were generated using the Cre/loxp system where the Cre recombinase is under the control of the pan-hematopoietic Vav1 promoter. Since the KO phenotype was lethal, we shifted the analysis during gestation. We examined the mRNA profiles of TER119+ erythroid cells purified from the livers of control (n=3) and KO embryos (n=2). Samples were collected at 14.5 days post conception.