Mutatons in the NF1 tumor suppressor gene cause neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF-1). NF1 encodes a GTPase activating protein (GAP) for p21 ras (Ras) called neurofibromin. Neurofibromin converts p21 ras from its active GTP to its inactive GDP bound conformation. Individuals with NFl have a propensity to acquire benign and malignant tumors. Additionally, children with NFl are predisposed to juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML). A hallmark of myeloid progenitors (CFU-GM) from JMML bone marrow cells is their propensity to hyperproliferate in response to low doses of the growth factor granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF). Homozygous disruption of Nfl is lethal in utero; however we found that murine Nf1 -deficient fetal hematopoletic cells show an abnormal pattern of CFU-GM growth and hyperactivation of Ras effectors in response to multiple growth factors, including GM-CSF and stem cell factor (SCF), the ligand for the c-kit receptor tyrosine kinase. C-kit is encoded by the murine dominant white spotting locus, W). Since the W and Nfl loci appeared to function along a common developmental pathway, mice with mutations at both loci were generated. We found that haploinsufficiency of Nfl partially rescued the mast cell and coat color defects in W41 mice. These data offered genetic evidence that haploinsufficiency at Nfl modulates cell fates in vitro and in vivo in two lineages that are affected in individuals with NFl. The results support the emerging concept that heterozygous inactivation of tumor suppressor genes may have important biological effects.While loss of neurofibromin increases p21 ras activity in specific cell lineages, identification of alterations in distinct p21 ras effector pathways that control proliferation and survival in NF1-deficient cells is incomplete and critical for understanding disease pathogenesis. Most previous studies argue that loss of neurofibromin results in increased activation of the classical p21 ras-Raf-Mek-ERK pathway. However, we have preliminary data to support an alternative biochemical model where the growth advantage of Nfl1-deficient cells is mediated through increased signals from p21 ras to the small Rho GTPase, Rac2, a Rac isoform expressed only in hematopoietic cells. We propose studies to examine how activation of p21 ras and Rac isoforms cooperate to alter the biology of Nfl +/- mast cells and Nf 1 -/- stem and myeloid progenitor cells utilizing mice with genetic mutations in these loci.
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