Cells Of Lymphoid Lineage Research Articles

A Rapid Automated Method for the Sequential Isolation of CD19, CD3 and Myeloid Cells from One Tube of Whole Blood.

Immune ablation followed by allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation in humans necessitates hematopoietic cell reconstitution and immune re-education. All blood cell lineages are affected and post-transplantation immune restoration depends upon the graft's ability to generate both lymphoid and myeloid lineage cells. Decisions regarding immunomodulation treatment post-transplantation are often made on the basis of chimerism testing. Chimerism analysis is typically performed on small blood samples, especially with pediatric patients. Since lymphoid and myeloid engraftment is asynchronous the determination of lineage-specific chimerism is needed. Analysis of purified cell subsets requires techniques which can isolate >1 cell type from a single small starting sample. This avoids dividing the sample. Performing flow cytometry as well as isolation of DNA from the purified subsets means that high cell recovery is essential. Preparation of the sample using a ficoll-based method often results in cell loss of 50% while certain lysis and wash steps can affect granulocyte content. We describe a method of sequential selections to isolate B cells, then T cells and finally myeloid lineages (CD33+ and/or CD66b+) using a fully automated pipetting robot called RoboSep®. RoboSep® can process sample sizes that range from 0.5 to 4.25 ml of human whole blood. CD19 (B cell) positive and CD3 (T cell) positive and myeloid cell fractions are isolated using immunomagnetic, column-free positive selection (EasySep®). Briefly, cells are first labeled with antibody targeting CD19 positive cells. These are then coupled to magnetic nanoparticles and the sample is placed in a magnet. The supernatant with unlabeled cells is removed to a new tube, leaving isolated CD19 positive cells in the magnet. The supernatant is then labeled with anti-CD3 antibody, magnetic nanoparticles, placed in a magnet and the supernatant is removed to a new tube leaving isolated CD3 positive cells. Finally, a cocktail of antibodies (anti-CD33, anti-CD66b) is used to label and select the myeloid cells from the supernatant. The resultant positive cells are collected in the magnet. Assessment by flow cytometry yields average purities over 90% for all cell types. Cell isolation using this method produces highly purified cells in quantities sufficient to generate genomic DNA for chimerism testing, even from very small amounts of starting sample. For example, 2.0 ml of whole blood yields on average 1.3ug of B cell genomic DNA, 10.2ug of T cell genomic DNA and 6.1ug of myeloid cell genomic DNA. In conclusion, we have developed a rapid, fully automated RoboSep® method to sequentially isolate highly purified B cells, then T cells and finally myeloid cells from a single starting sample of whole blood.The number of cells (x106) and amount of total genomic DNA (range) obtained from 2.0 ml of whole blood starting sample (n=3).No. Enriched CellsTotal DNA (ug)CD19+0.12 – 0.341.1 – 1.6CD3+1.8 – 3.27.9 – 11.9Myeloid2.2 – 2.94 – 7.2

Production of monoclonal antibodies reactive with ovine eosinophils

BackgroundThere is strong evidence implicating eosinophils in host defence against parasites as well as allergic disease pathologies. However, a lack of reagents such as monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) specific for eosinophils has made it difficult to confirm the functional role of eosinophils in such disease conditions. Using an established mammary model of allergic inflammation in sheep, large numbers of inflammatory cells enriched for eosinophils were collected from parasite-stimulated mammary glands and used for the generation of mAbs against ovine eosinophils.ResultsA panel of mAbs was raised against ovine eosinophils of which two were shown to be highly specific for eosinophils. The reactivity of mAbs 3.252 and 1.2 identified eosinophils from various cell and tissue preparations with no detectable reactivity on cells of myeloid or lymphoid lineage, tissue mast cells, dendritic cells, epithelial cells or other connective tissues. Two other mAbs generated in this study (mAbs 4.4 and 4.10) were found to have reactivity for both eosinophils and neutrophils.ConclusionThis study describes the production of new reagents to identify eosinophils (as well as granulocytes) in sheep that will be useful in studying the role of eosinophils in disease pathologies in parasite and allergy models.

Repeat Organization and Epigenetic Regulation of the DH-Cμ Domain of the Immunoglobulin Heavy-Chain Gene Locus

The first steps of murine immunoglobulin heavy-chain (IgH) gene recombination take place within a chromosomal domain that contains diversity (D(H)) and joining (J(H)) gene segments, but not variable (V(H)) gene segments. Here we show that the chromatin state of this domain is markedly heterogeneous. Specifically, only 5'- and 3'-most D(H) gene segments carry active chromatin modifications, whereas intervening D(H)s are associated with heterochromatic marks that are maintained by ongoing histone deacetylation. The intervening D(H)s form part of a tandemly repeated sequence that expresses tissue-specific, antisense oriented transcripts. We propose that the intervening D(H) genes are actively suppressed by repeat-induced epigenetic silencing, which is reflected in their infrequent representation in DJ(H) junctions compared to the flanking D(H) genes.

Functional implications of tetraspanin proteins in cancer biology

Human tetraspanin proteins are a group of 33 highly hydrophobic membrane proteins that can form complexes in cholesterol-rich microdomains, distinct from lipid rafts, on the cell surface in a dynamic and reversible way. These complexes are composed of a core of several tetraspanin proteins that organize other membrane proteins such as integrins, human leukocyte antigen (HLA) antigens and some growth factor receptors. Although most tetraspanin proteins have been studied individually, tetraspanin proteins and their complexes can have effects on cellular adhesion and motility, interactions with stroma or affect signaling by growth factors, and for most of them no ligand has been identified. Functionally these proteins have been mostly studied in cells of lymphoid lineage, but they are present in all cell types. Data is also available for some tumors, where some tetraspanins have been identified as metastasis suppressors, but their significance is still not clear. Some of their implications in tumor biology and the areas that deserve further study are outlined.

Inflammatory Blues Turns Velvet Skin Into Rawhide

The directed homing of leukocytes is crucial during immune surveillance or inflammation and is accomplished by a complex cooperation of signaling and adhesion molecules.1,2 Its pathophysiologic relevance is exemplified by various inflammatory diseases such as atherosclerosis.3 At present, the course of leukocyte trafficking is well established through the classical multistep cascade of initial tethering and rolling of leukocytes over vascular endothelium, followed by firm adhesion and their subsequent spreading and transendothelial migration.1,2 Leukocyte rolling is mediated by a subgroup of C-type lectins; E-, L-, and P-selectin, through shear-resistant binding to particular cell-surface carbohydrates. E- and L-selectin are expressed on activated endothelial cells and most leukocytes, respectively, while P-selectin is stored in the secretory compartments of platelets and endothelial cells to become rapidly upregulated on cell activation. The best characterized ligand for selectins is P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1 (PSGL-1),4 a heavily posttranslationally modified homodimeric transmembrane glycoprotein. PSGL-1 contains functionally essential sialylated and fucosylated carbohydrate moieties, known as sialyl Lewis X (sLex) groups, and is expressed on blood cells such as neutrophils, monocytes, and platelets.5 The importance of PSGL-1 for cell recruitment is highlighted by studies using transgenic mice deficient in PSGL-1, which revealed a crucial contribution to P-selectin–dependent rolling on inflamed endothelium, indicating a function of PSGL-1 in early inflammatory responses.6 Presented by endothelium-bound leukocytes, PSGL-1 supports the initial L-selectin–dependent tethering of blood-borne leukocytes to the already adherent leukocytes at the inflamed vessel wall followed by E-selectin-mediated rolling on the endothelium.7 Besides supporting leukocyte–endothelium interactions, PSGL-1 promotes the P-selectin–dependent initial tethering of platelets to monocytes8,9 followed by more stable interactions through integrins expressed on both platelets and monocytes. In addition, the interaction between PSGL-1 and P-selectin also plays an essential role in the delivery …

Transient blocking of Lnk-mediated pathways as a potential approach to promote engrafting ability of hematopoietic progenitor cells

Lnk, an intracellular adaptor protein functions as a negative regulator of B lymphopoiesis, megakaryopoiesis and erythropoiesis by modulating signals through c-Kit, c-Mpl and Epo-R, respectively. In recent studies, we and other groups have shown that Lnk-/- mice display an increased number and enhanced repopulating capability of hematopoietic stem or progenitor cells (HSC/Ps), which is due to their hyperresponsiveness to thrombopoietin. Moreover, we have demonstrated that Src homology-2 (SH2) domain of Lnk is essential for the inhibitory function and that Lnk mutants with a point mutation in the SH2 domain potently act as dominant-negative mutant (DN-Lnk). Forced expression of DN-Lnk in HSC/Ps enhanced their repopulating capability in lethally irradiated recipient mice. Remarkably, transient expression of DN-Lnk also facilitated engraftment of HSC/Ps in immunodeficient animal under nonmyeloablative condition, leading to full reconstitution of lymphoid lineage cells. Transwell migration assay revealed that an interaction between HSC/Ps and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) was augmented by Lnk deficiency or expression of DN-Lnk. These results suggest that Lnk modulates cell mobility of HSC/Ps in addition to their expansion. Lnk-mediated pathway therefore could become a potential target for enhancing both integrin-mediated engraftment and cytokine-dependent expansion of HSC/Ps.

Smad7 promotes self-renewal of hematopoietic stem cells

AbstractThe Smad-signaling pathway downstream of the transforming growth factor–β superfamily of ligands is an evolutionarily conserved signaling circuitry with critical functions in a wide variety of biologic processes. To investigate the role of this pathway in the regulation of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), we have blocked Smad signaling by retroviral gene transfer of the inhibitory Smad7 to murine HSCs. We report here that the self-renewal capacity of HSCs is promoted in vivo upon blocking of the entire Smad pathway, as shown by both primary and secondary bone marrow (BM) transplantations. Importantly, HSCs overexpressing Smad7 have an unperturbed differentiation capacity as evidenced by normal contribution to both lymphoid and myeloid cell lineages, suggesting that the Smad pathway regulates self-renewal independently of differentiation. Moreover, phosphorylation of Smads was inhibited in response to ligand stimulation in BM cells, thus verifying impairment of the Smad-signaling cascade in Smad7-overexpressing cells. Taken together, these data reveal an important and previously unappreciated role for the Smad-signaling pathway in the regulation of self-renewal of HSCs in vivo.

Stem Cell c-KITandHOXB4Genes: Critical Roles and Mechanisms in Self-Renewal, Proliferation, and Differentiation

Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) possess a distinct ability to perpetuate through self-renewal and to generate progeny that differentiate into mature cells of myeloid and lymphoid lineages. A better understanding of the molecular mechanisms by which HSCs replicate and differentiate from the perspective of developing new approaches for HSC transplantation is necessary for further advances. The interaction of the receptor tyrosine kinase--c-KIT--with its ligand stem cell factor plays a key role in HSC survival, mitogenesis, proliferation, differentiation, adhesion, homing, migration, and functional activation. Evidence that activating site-directed point mutations in the c-KIT gene contributes to its ligand-independent constitutive activation, which induces enhanced proliferation of HSCs, is accumulating. Similarly, and equally important, self-renewal is a process by which HSCs generate daughter cells via division. Self-renewal is necessary for retaining the HSC pool. Therefore, elucidating the molecular machinery that governs self-renewal is of key importance. The transcription factor, HOXB4 is a key molecule that has been reported to induce the in vitro expansion of HSCs via self-renewal. However, critical downstream effector molecules of HOXB4 remain to be determined. This concisely reviewed information on c-KIT and HOXB4 helps us to update our understanding of their function and mechanism of action in self-renewal, proliferation, and differentiation of HSCs, particularly modulation by c-KIT mutant interactions, and HOXB4 overexpression showing certain therapeutic implications.

The MAML1 Transcriptional Co-Activator Is Required for the Development of Marginal Zone B Cells.

Notch1 and Notch2 receptor-mediated signaling appear to have important and unique roles in lymphoid lineage commitment. Notch1 is required for T cell development, while Notch2 is essential for marginal zone B cell development. This specificity is not completely explained by differential expression patterns of Notch1 and 2 or Notch ligands, suggesting that there are other genes that contribute to specifying Notch receptor functions. We have previously shown that the MAML family of transcriptional co-activators is essential for Notch-induced transcriptional events, and functions by forming ternary complexes with Notch and the transcription factor CSL in the nucleus. This MAML family currently consists of three members, MAML1-3, all of which can function as co-activators for Notch receptors in vitro . In this study, we investigated the possibility that MAML1 co-activator contributes to determining Notch receptor function by generating mice deficient in the Maml1 gene. Maml1 -deficient mice fail to thrive and die within 10 days of birth. The morphology of marrow, nodes, and spleen was grossly intact. The ability of Maml1-deficient stem cells to generate different T and B lineages of lymphoid cells was determined by transplanting fetal liver cells isolated from E14.5 embryos into lethally irradiated wild-type recipient mice and analyzing donor-derived lymphoid cells 12 weeks post-transplantation. We found that the deletion of Maml1 results in complete loss of marginal zone B cell lineage (MZB, defined by B220+CD21hiCD23lo). Moreover, the number of MZB cells was reduced to about 50% in Maml1 -heterozygous fetal liver chimeras as compared to wild type controls. However, T cell development was largely unaffected, with only a modest but significant increase in the number of γδ T cells (about 2 fold) in both the thymus and the spleen. Therefore, these results suggest the unexpected finding that targeted deletion of Maml1 in hematopoietic cells is similar to the targeted deletion of either Notch2 or the Notch ligand, Delta-like 1 (Dll1) resulting in the loss of marginal zone B cells and minimal effects on T cell development. Moreover, the number of marginal zone B cells is correlated with Maml1 gene dosage, indicating haploinsufficiency. These data suggest that the Notch ligand Dll1 activates Notch2 signaling resulting in a Notch2/MAML1/CSL complex that is essential for marginal zone B cell development. Further studies with respect to relative expression levels of various MAML genes and interactions of MAML co-activators and Notch receptors may shed additional light into understanding how different Notch receptors regulate cell fate decisions in hematopoiesis.

IL-9 promotes anti-Mycobacterium lepraecytotoxicity: involvement of IFNγ

Interleukin 9 (IL-9) is a T-cell derived factor preferentially expressed by CD4+ Th2 cells and it has been characterized both in human and murine systems. It is a pleiotropic cytokine with multiple functions on cells of the lymphoid, myeloid and mast cell lineages, as well as on lung epithelial cells. Other activities described for IL-9 support its contribution to asthma and its important role in helminthic infections, where a Th2 response can be protective and IL-9 enhances resistance or is responsible for elimination of the nematode. Nevertheless, until recently there were no studies on its role in bacterial infections in man. We have demonstrated that cytokines can modulate the specific cytotoxicity generation in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from leprosy patients and normal controls. In the present report we studied the effect of IL-9 in this experimental model. Our results indicate that IL-9 can counteract the negative effect mediated by IL-4 on the generation of M. leprae-induced cytotoxic T lymphocytes. Moreover, it can increase this lytic activity in controls and enhance the stimulatory effect of IL-2 or IL-6 in cells from leprosy patients and controls. IL-9 is also able to revert the inhibitory effect of IL-10 and IL-13 on the M. leprae-induced cytotoxic activity. Although the exact mechanism of action of IL-9 remains to be determined, interferon gamma seems to be required for the effect of IL-9 in this experimental model. These data suggest that IL-9 may have an atypical Th2 behaviour and play a role in the modulation of the immune response to mycobacterial infections.

The fundamental contribution of Robert A. Good to the discovery of the crucial role of thymus in mammalian immunity.

Robert Alan Good was a pioneer in the field of immunodeficiency diseases. He and his colleagues defined the cellular basis and functional consequences of many of the inherited immunodeficiency diseases. His was one of the groups that discovered the pivotal role of the thymus in the immune system development and defined the separate development of the thymus-dependent and bursa-dependent lymphoid cell lineages and their responsibilities in cell-mediated and humoral immunity.

Clonal analysis of thymus-repopulating cells presents direct evidence for self-renewal division of human hematopoietic stem cells

AbstractTo elucidate the in vivo kinetics of human hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), CD34+CD38– cells were infected with lentivirus vector and transplanted into immunodeficient mice. We analyzed the multilineage differentiation and self-renewal abilities of individual thymus-repopulating clones in primary recipients, and their descending clones in paired secondary recipients, by tracing lentivirus gene integration sites in each lymphomyeloid progeny using a linear amplification-mediated polymerase chain reaction (PCR) strategy. Our clonal analysis revealed that a single human thymus-repopulating cell had the ability to produce lymphoid and myeloid lineage cells in the primary recipient and each secondary recipient, indicating that individual human HSCs expand clonally by self-renewal division. Furthermore, we found that the proportion of HSC clones present in the CD34+ cell population decreased as HSCs replicated during extensive repopulation and also as the differentiation capacity of the HSC clones became limited. This indicates the restriction of the ability of individual HSCs despite the expansion of total HSC population. We also demonstrated that the extensive self-renewal potential was confined in the relatively small proportion of HSC clones. We conclude that our clonal tracking studies clearly demonstrated that heterogeneity in the self-renewal capacity of HSC clones underlies the differences in clonal longevity in the CD34+ stem cell pool.

Multipotency of CD11b highGr-1 + immature myeloid cells accumulating in oral squamous cell carcinoma-bearing mice

We demonstrated the accumulation of CD11b(high)Gr-1(+) cells in a murine model of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Inoculation of NR-S1K cells derived from oral SCC induced a rapid and clear accumulation of CD11b(high)Gr-1(+) cells in secondary lymphoid organs as well as in peripheral blood. Phenotypic and morphological analyses revealed that these CD11b(high)Gr-1(+) cells were not lymphoid lineage cells, mature dendritic cells, macrophages, or granulocytes. Although the freshly isolated CD11b(high) cells lacked antigen-presenting capacity, they acquired a potent antigen-presenting capacity that included the induction of MHC class II after culture with GM-CSF and IL-4 in vitro. These results suggest that CD11b(high) cells that accumulate in tumor-bearing hosts are immature myeloid cells, but have considerable potential to differentiate into potent antigen-presenting cells under appropriate culture conditions. The use of in vitro differentiated CD11b(high) cells may be a potential strategy for obtaining patient-matched dendritic cells for tumor immunotherapy.

Nelarabine- A New Purine Analog in the Treatment of Hematologic Malignancies

GW506U78 or nelarabine (Glaxo-SmithKline) is a nucleoside analog that is rapidly converted by cells of lymphoid lineage to its corresponding arabinosylguanine nucleotide triphosphate (araGTP). The triphosphate form of araG acts as a substrate for DNA polymerases and araG gets incorporated into the DNA, resulting in inhibition of DNA synthesis and subsequent cytotoxicity. It has been shown that nelarabine has activity as a single agent in patients with T-cell malignancies that have relapsed or are refractory to other therapy. The ongoing research on nelarabine has earned fast-track status from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treatment of patients with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia and lymphoblastic lymphoma who have not responded to or whose disease has progressed during treatment with at least two standard regimens. It is likely that nelarabine will be a useful drug in the treatment of leukemic diseases in the future and therefore nelarabine is an interesting drug to study further. Here we present an overview of what is known about the mechanism of action of nelarabine and its status in clinical trials.

Enhanced Histopathology of the Bone Marrow

Changes in bone marrow cellularity can be an indicator of systemic toxicity and, therefore, bone marrow should be included in the battery of tissues examined for enhanced histopathology. However, the majority of changes in the bone marrow that are observed in toxicology studies are a response to hematological changes or lesions elsewhere in the body. For this reason, a consideration of all tissue changes in the body is required in order to differentiate toxic effects versus physiological responses in the bone marrow. While enhanced histopathology involves evaluation of the separate compartments in each lymphoid organ using descriptive rather than interpretive terminology, bone marrow is unique in that it lacks specific compartments. Furthermore, identification of erythroid, myeloid, megakaryocytic, and stromal cells, plus adipose tissue and hemosiderin-laden macrophages, can be accomplished from conventional H&E-stained sections, but conclusive identification of lymphoid lineage cells is not likely. This limits the extent of initial enhanced histopathology on bone marrow and argues for the use of cytological preparations for more comprehensive assessment of potential immunomodulatory effects.

Toll-like Receptors on Hematopoietic Progenitor Cells Stimulate Innate Immune System Replenishment

Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are best known for their ability to recognize microbial or viral components and initiate innate immune responses. We showed here that TLRs and their coreceptors were expressed by multipotential hematopoietic stem cells, whose cell cycle entry was triggered by TLR ligation. TLR expression also extended to some of the early hematopoietic progenitors, although not the progenitor cells dedicated to megakaryocyte and erythroid differentiation. TLR signaling via the Myd88 adaptor protein drove differentiation of myeloid progenitors, bypassing some normal growth and differentiation requirements, and also drove lymphoid progenitors to become dendritic cells. CD14 contributed to the efficiency of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) recognition by stem and progenitor cells, and LPS interacted directly with the TLR4/MD-2 complex on these cells in bone marrow. Thus, the preferential pathogen-mediated stimulation of myeloid differentiation pathways may provide a means for rapid replenishment of the innate immune system during infection.

Mammalian Polycomb complexes are required for Peyer's patch development by regulating lymphoid cell proliferation

The vertebrate Polycomb Group (PcG) genes encode proteins that form large multimeric and chromatin-associated complexes implicated in the stable repression of developmentally essential genes. Rnf110 and Phc2 are shown to be components of mammalian PcG multimeric complexes in HeLa cells. Here we report defects in Peyer's patch (PP) development in Rnf110 mutant mice, which is synergically exaggerated by Phc2 mutation. PP development involves a series of inductive interactions and subsequent differentiation and proliferation between lymphoid and mesenchymal cells in late gestational stage. Rnf110 and Phc2 mutations impair development of PP anlagen by affecting proliferation of lymphoid lineage cells populated in PP anlagen in gene-dosage dependent manner. We suggest that PcG complexes may act to mediate certain inductive signals maybe through IL-7Rα to allow sufficient proliferation of lymphoid inducer cells during PP organogenesis.

Physiological and Non-Redundant Functions of PKC Isotypes in T Lymphocytes

This review is about the physiological and non-redundant functions of the PKC gene products in hematopoietic cells, particularly T cells. In spite of the large amount of information on PKC functions in various cell types and tissues, the characterization of the isotype selective functions of the entire PKC family in lymphoid cell lineages is far from complete. Given the established important role of PKCθ as regulator of T cell fate and knowing that several other PKC isotypes are also expressed in T cells at a high level, we here summarize the physiological and non-redundant functions of PKCα, β, δ, ε,ζ and θ isotypes in T cells (with emphasis on the ongoing mouse genetic studies). Their known and/or suspected cellular regulation, effector pathways as well as physiological functions are discussed. While PKCβ,ε, δ and appear to be dispensable during cellular activation of primary CD3+ T cells, PKCα and PKCθ take critical parts in signaling pathways that are necessary for full antigen receptor mediated T cell activation and T lymphocyte immunity. Keywords: T lymphocyte, antigen receptor, gene ablation, PKC isotypes, cellular functions

Use of interleukin 7 receptor-α knockout donor cells demonstrates the lymphoid independence of dendritic cells

The precise lineage of dendritic cells (DCs), including skin Langerhans cells (LCs), is unclear. Interleukin 7 (IL-7) and its receptor (IL-7R alpha) are known to mediate lymphopoiesis, and IL-7 is also known to be essential for the generation of DCs from lymphoid-committed precursors in vitro. Thus, to determine the developmental lymphoid (or IL-7R alpha) dependency of various DCs and to examine the importance of IL-7/IL-7R alpha for DC development in vivo, we used IL-7R alpha knockout (KO) donor cells to reconstitute DCs/LCs in sublethally irradiated recipients and compared the results to those obtained using wild-type (WT) donor cells. We found that lymphoid lineage cells (except natural killer [NK] cells), including thymocytes, were less efficiently reconstituted by IL-7R alpha KO donor cells, whereas myeloid lineage cells and DCs/LCs were equally well reconstituted by both the IL-7R alpha KO and WT donor cells. Overall, we conclude that IL-7R alpha is not required for the development of DCs/LC in vivo.

Expression of a homodimeric type I cytokine receptor is required for JAK2V617F-mediated transformation

A recurrent somatic activating mutation in the nonreceptor tyrosine kinase JAK2 (JAK2V617F) occurs in the majority of patients with the myeloproliferative disorders polycythemia vera, essential thrombocythemia, myelofibrosis with myeloid metaplasia, and, less commonly, chronic myelomonocytic leukemia. We do not understand the basis for the specificity of the JAK2V617F mutation in clonal disorders of the myeloid, but not lymphoid, lineage, nor has the basis for the pleiotropic phenotype of JAK2V617F-associated myeloproliferative disorders been delineated. However, the presence of the identical mutation in patients with related, but clinicopathologically distinct, myeloid disorders suggests that interactions between the JAK2V617F kinase and other signaling molecules may influence the phenotype of hematopoietic progenitors expressing JAK2V617F. Here, we show that coexpression of the JAK2V617F mutant kinase with a homodimeric Type I cytokine receptor, the erythropoietin receptor (EpoR), the thrombopoietin receptor, or the granulocyte colony-stimulating-factor receptor, is necessary for transformation of hematopoietic cells to growth-factor independence and for hormone-independent activation of JAK-STAT signaling. Furthermore, EpoR mutations that impair erythropoietin-mediated JAK2 or STAT5 activation also impair transformation mediated by the JAK2V617F kinase, indicating that JAK2V617F requires a cytokine receptor scaffold for its transforming and signaling activities. Our results reveal the molecular basis for the prevalence of JAK2V617F in diseases of myeloid lineage cells that express these Type I cytokine receptors but not in lymphoid lineage cells that do not.