Negative regulation of lymphoid specification by the transcription factor Tal1

Lymphoid primed multipotent progenitors are a subset of MPPs that are undergoing specification to the lymphoid and myeloid cell fates. The transcription factors Lyl1 and E2A are both essential for the development LMPPs and can form a heterodimeric complex. We examined the consequences of E2A- or Lyl1-deficiency on development of LMPPs and on their gene expression program in comparison with wild-type LMPPs We used microarray data to examine the differences in gene expression between control, E2A-/- and Lyl1-/- CD138+ LSK cells. RNA was extracted from Lineage-CD117+SCA-1+CD135+ cells purified by flow cytometric cell sorting from the bone marrow of control, E2A-/- and Lyl1-/- mice. Thre independent samples were created from each genotype. The RNA was hybridized to Affymetrix microarrays.