Gene trapping of two novel genes, Hzf and Hhl, expressed in hematopoietic cells

Using an expression gene trapping strategy, we have identified and characterized two novel hematopoietic genes, Hzf and Hhl. Embryonic stem (ES) cells containing a gene trap vector insertion were cultured on OP9 stromal cells to induce hematopoietic differentiation and screened for lacZ reporter gene expression. Two ES clones displaying lacZ expression within hematopoietic cells in vitro were used to generate mice containing the gene trap integrations. Paralleling this in vitro expression pattern, both Hzf and Hhl were expressed in a tissue-specific manner during hematopoietic development in vivo. Hzf encodes a novel protein containing three C(2)H(2)-type zinc fingers predominantly expressed in megakaryocytes and CFU-GEMM. Hhl encodes a novel protein containing a putative phosphotyrosine binding (PTB) domain expressed in megakaryocytes, CFU-GEMM and BFU-E. These results demonstrate the utility of expression trapping to identify novel hematopoietic genes. Future studies of Hzf and Hhl should provide valuable information on the role these genes play during megakaryocytopoiesis.