Gfer inhibits Jab1-mediated degradation of p27kip1 to restrict proliferation of hematopoietic stem cells

Growth factor erv1-like (Gfer) is an evolutionarily conserved sulfhydryl oxidase that is enriched in embryonic and adult stem cells and plays an essential prosurvival role in pluripotent embryonic stem cells. Here we show that knockdown (KD) of Gfer in hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) compromises their in vivo engraftment potential and triggers a hyper-proliferative response that leads to their exhaustion. KD of Gfer in HSCs does not elicit a significant alteration of mitochondrial morphology or loss of cell viability. However, these cells possess significantly reduced levels of the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p27(kip1). In contrast, overexpression of Gfer in HSCs results in significantly elevated total and nuclear p27(kip1). KD of Gfer results in enhanced binding of p27(kip1) to its inhibitor, the COP9 signalosome subunit jun activation-domain binding protein 1 (Jab1), leading to its down-regulation. Conversely, overexpression of Gfer results in its enhanced binding to Jab1 and inhibition of the Jab1-p27(kip1) interaction. Furthermore, normalization of p27(kip1) in Gfer-KD HSCs rescues their in vitro proliferation deficits. Taken together, our data demonstrate the presence of a novel Gfer-Jab1-p27(kip1) pathway in HSCs that functions to restrict abnormal proliferation.