The Vwrpy Domain Is Essential For Runx1 Function In Hematopoietic Progenitor Cell Maturation And Megakaryocyte Differentiation

RUNX1 is a transcription factor essential during definitive hematopoiesis. Germline mutations in RUNX1 results in a disorder called Familial Platelet Disorder with Associated Myeloid Malignancy (FPDMM). FPDMM patients have abnormal bleeding due to reduced platelet count and/or function. Importantly, 20-60% of the FPDMM patients develop hematological malignancies, which are mainly myeloid. Reported RUNX1 mutations in FPDMM families are mostly clustered in the N-terminal runt domain and the C-terminal transactivation domain. Recently, three mutations have been reported at or near the end of the C-terminal repression domain, the VWRPY motif. However, the mechanism behind the VWRPY motif involvement in the FPDMM pathogenesis has not been studied. Interestingly, these VWRPY-mutated RUNX1 proteins still have intact runt and transactivation domains, but patients still show FPDMM phenotype. Here, we evaluate the functional defects of a RUNX1 mutation, L472fsX, which was reported in a FPDMM family, using three different experimental models. Our study is aimed to unravel the significance of the VWRPY motif in FPDMM pathogenesis.