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CXCR4 is the receptor for the alpha-chemokine stromal cell-derived factor 1 (SDF-1) and has been shown to be expressed on a diversity of leukocytes. In this report, the expression of the CXCR4 receptor in cells of megakaryocytic lineage and the role of SDF-1 in megakaryocytopoiesis were investigated. Using flow cytometry in combination with reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), we observed that bone marrow CD34(+), CD61(+) cells, blood platelets, and megakaryocytic leukemia cell lines all expressed the CXCR4 receptor. To examine the expression of the CXCR4 receptor on megakaryocyte progenitors (colony-forming units-megakaryocyte CFU-Meg), CXCR4-positive and -negative CD34(+) populations were separated from bone marrow and cultured in a plasma clot culture system. A subpopulation of the CFU-Meg was found in the CXCR4-positive fraction. The functional significance of CXCR4 expression on cells of the megakaryocytic lineage was examined by studying the effects of SDF-1alpha on migration and proliferation of megakaryocyte progenitor cells in vitro. We found that SDF-1alpha potently induced megakaryocyte progenitor migration and significantly enhanced adhesion of mature marrow megakaryocytes to endothelium. No marked effects of SDF-1alpha alone or in combination with thrombopoietin and stem cell factor/kit ligand on megakaryocyte production in vitro were noted. These results demonstrate for the first time that the CXCR4 alpha-chemokine receptor is expressed on cells of the megakaryocytic lineage from progenitors to platelets and that its ligand SDF-1alpha may modulate several aspects of megakaryocytopoiesis.
Wang et al. (Sat,) studied this question.