mRNA expression in Zfp36L2 knockout E14.5 fetal liver

ZFP36L2, zinc finger protein 36, C3H type-like 2 (also known as Brf2, Erf2, Tis11D) is a member of the tristetraprolin (TTP; Zfp36) family of tandem CCCH zinc finger proteins that can bind to AU-rich elements (AREs) in the 3'-untranslated region of mRNAs, leading to their deadenylation and subsequent degradation. We have generated Zfp36l2 knockout mice. Knockout mice were born at the expected Mendelian frequency, but within several weeks of birth they died rather suddenly with pallor and frequent intestinal hemorrhage. These mice exhibited pancytopenia, decreased hematopoietic progenitor cells from fetal liver and yolk sac, and ineffective hematopoietic stem cells. Since ZFP26L2 is likely to function as an ARE-containing mRNA destabilizing protein, we were interested in identifying any abnormally stabilized transcripts in fetal livers from the Zfp36l2 knockout mice whose protein product may directly or indirectly affect hematopoietic stem cell function. Total RNA was isolated from individual embryonic day 14.5 fetal livers. Five wild type and five knockout fetal livers were used to generate 5 wild type replicates and 5 knockout replicates. RNA expression from knockout fetal livers was compared to wild type fetal livers.