Fre Arwert

VU medisch centrum, Amsterdam, North Holland, Netherlands

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Publications (4)34.3 Total impact

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    Article: Impaired functionality and homing of Fancg-deficient hematopoietic stem cells.
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    ABSTRACT: Fanconi anemia (FA) is a human rare genetic disorder characterized by congenital defects, bone marrow (BM) failure and predisposition to leukemia. The progressive aplastic anemia suggests a defect in the ability of hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) to sustain hematopoieis. We have examined the role of the nuclear FA core complex gene Fancg in the functionality of HSC. In Fancg-/- mice, we observed a decay of long-term HSC and multipotent progenitors that account for the reduction in the LSK compartment containing primitive hematopoietic cells. Fancg-/- lymphoid and myeloid progenitor cells were also affected, and myeloid progenitors show compromised in vitro functionality. HSC from Fancg-/- mice failed to engraft and to reconstitute at short and long term the hematopoiesis in a competitive transplantation assay. Fancg-/- LSK cells showed a loss of quiescence, an impaired migration in vitro in response to the chemokine CXCL12 and a defective homing to the BM after transplantation. Finally, the expression of several key genes involved in self-renewal, quiescence and migration of HSC was dysregulated in Fancg-deficient LSK subset. Collectively, our data reveal that Fancg should play a role in the regulation of physiological functions of HSC.
    Human Molecular Genetics 01/2012; 21(1):121-35. · 7.64 Impact Factor
  • Article: Continuous in vivo infusion of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) enhances engraftment of syngeneic wild-type cells in Fanca-/- and Fancg-/- mice.
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    ABSTRACT: Fanconi anemia (FA) is a heterogeneous genetic disorder characterized by bone marrow (BM) failure and cancer susceptibility. Identification of the cDNAs of FA complementation types allows the potential of using gene transfer technology to introduce functional cDNAs as transgenes into autologous stem cells and provide a cure for the BM failure in FA patients. However, strategies to enhance the mobilization, transduction, and engraftment of exogenous stem cells are required to optimize efficacy prior to widespread clinical use. Hypersensitivity of Fancc-/- cells to interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), a nongenotoxic immune-regulatory cytokine, enhances engraftment of syngeneic wild-type (WT) cells in Fancc-/- mice. However, whether this phenotype is of broad relevance in other FA complementation groups is unresolved. Here we show that primitive and mature myeloid progenitors in Fanca-/- and Fancg-/- mice are hypersensitive to IFN-gamma and that in vivo infusion of IFN-gamma at clinically relevant concentrations was sufficient to allow consistent long-term engraftment of isogenic WT repopulating stem cells. Given that FANCA, FANCC, and FANCG complementation groups account for more than 90% of all FA patients, these data provide evidence that IFN-gamma conditioning may be a useful nongenotoxic strategy for myelopreparation in FA patients.
    Blood 01/2007; 108(13):4283-7. · 9.90 Impact Factor
  • Article: Telomere dynamics in Fancg-deficient mouse and human cells.
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    ABSTRACT: A number of DNA repair proteins also play roles in telomere metabolism. To investigate whether the accelerated telomere shortening reported in Fanconi anemia (FA) hematopoietic cells relates to a direct role of the FA pathway in telomere maintenance, we have analyzed telomere dynamics in Fancg-deficient mouse and human cells. We show here that both hematopoietic (stem and differentiated bone marrow cells, B and T lymphocytes) and nonhematopoietic (germ cells, mouse embryonic fibroblasts [MEFs]) Fancg(-/-) mouse cells display normal telomere length, normal telomerase activity, and normal chromosome end-capping, even in the presence of extensive clastogen-induced cytogenetic instability (mitomycin C [MMC], gamma-radiation). In addition, telomerase-deficient MEFs with humanlike telomere length and decreased Fancg expression (G5 Terc(-/-)/Fancg shRNA3 MEFs) display normal telomere maintenance. Finally, early-passage primary fibroblasts from patients with FA of complementation group G as well as primary human cells with reduced FANCG expression (FANCG shRNA IMR90 cells) show no signs of telomere dysfunction. Our observations indicate that accelerated telomere shortening in patients with FA is not due to a role of FANCG at telomeres but instead may be secondary to the disease. These findings suggest that telomerase-based therapies could be useful prophylactic agents in FA aplastic anemia by preserving their telomere reserve in the context of the disease.
    Blood 01/2005; 104(13):3927-35. · 9.90 Impact Factor
  • Article: Phenotype correction of Fanconi anemia group A hematopoietic stem cells using lentiviral vector.
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    ABSTRACT: Fanconi anemia (FA) is an autosomal recessive disease characterized by progressive bone marrow failure due to defective stem cell function. FA patients' cells are hypersensitive to DNA cross-linking agents such as mitomycin C (MMC), exposure to which results in cytogenetic aberrations and cell death. To date Moloney murine leukemia virus vectors have been used in clinical gene therapy. Recently, third-generation lentiviral vectors based on the HIV-1 genome have been developed for efficient gene transfer to hematopoietic stem cells. We generated a self-inactivating lentiviral vector expressing the FA group A cDNA driven by the murine stem cell virus U3 LTR promoter and used the vector to transduce side-population (SP) cells isolated from bone marrow of Fanconi anemia group A (Fanca) knockout mice. One thousand transduced SP cells reconstituted the bone marrow of sublethally irradiated Fanca recipient mice. Phenotype correction was demonstrated by stable hematopoiesis following MMC challenge. Using real-time PCR, one proviral vector DNA copy per cell was detected in all lineage-committed cells in the peripheral blood of both primary and secondary recipients. Our results suggest that the lentiviral vector transduces stem cells capable of self-renewal and long-term hematopoiesis in vivo and is potentially useful for clinical gene therapy of FA hematopoietic cells.
    Molecular Therapy 11/2003; 8(4):600-10. · 6.87 Impact Factor