# The involvement of krüppel-like transcription factor 2 in megakaryocytic differentiation induction by phorbol 12-myrestrat 13-acetate

## TL;DR

This study shows that KLF2 promotes megakaryocytic differentiation, suggesting it could be a target for diseases with abnormal blood cell development.

## Contribution

The study identifies KLF2 as a novel regulator of megakaryocytic differentiation and suggests potential target genes CHN1 and KCNQ5.

## Key findings

- KLF2 overexpression enhances PMA-induced megakaryocytic differentiation in K562 cells.
- KLF2 knockdown suppresses megakaryocytic differentiation and reduces polyploidy and marker expression.
- CHN1 and KCNQ5 are proposed as KLF2-regulated genes involved in differentiation.

## Abstract

Megakaryocytic differentiation is a complicated process regulated by a series of transcription factors in a context- and stage-dependent manner. Recent studies have suggested that krüppel-like transcription factor 2 (KLF2) is involved in the control of embryonic erythroid precursor cell differentiation and maturation. However, the function and mechanism of KLF2 in regulating megakaryocytic differentiation remain unclear.

The expression patterns of krüppel-like transcription factors (KLFs) during megakaryocytic differentiation were identified from public databases. Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) treatment of the myeloid-erythroid-leukemic cell lines K562 and HEL were used as cellular megakaryocytic differentiation models. A lentiviral transduction system was utilized to achieve the goal of amplifying or reducing KLF2. The expression of KLF2 was examined using real-time PCR and western blot. The impact of KLF2 on the megakaryocytic differentiation of K562 cells was examined by flow cytometry, Giemsa staining, Phalloidin staining and western blot. RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) and chromatin immunoprecipitation-sequencing (ChIP-seq) technologies were used to identify the KLF2-regulated targets.

KLF2 is increased in the maturation process of megakaryocytes. KLF2 overexpression accelerated the PMA-induced megakaryocytic differentiation, as reflected by an increased percentage of CD41/CD61 cells, an increased number of polyploid cells, and an elevated expression of P21 and P27. KLF2 knockdown exhibited the opposite results, indicating that KLF2 knockdown suppressed the megakaryocytic differentiation. Further, combination of the RNA-seq and ChIP-seq results suggested that chimerin 1 (CHN1) and potassium voltage-gated channel subfamily Q member 5 (KCNQ5) may be target genes regulated of KLF2. Both CHN1 and KCNQ5 knockdown could block the megakaryocytic differentiation to some content.

This study implicated a regulatory role of KLF2 in megakaryocytic differentiation, which may suggest KLF2 as a target for illness with abnormal megakaryocytic differentiation.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40364-024-00614-9.