Cebpα is essential for the embryonic myeloid progenitor and neutrophil maintenance in zebrafish

In vertebrates, myeloid cells arise from multiple waves of development: the first or embryonic wave of myelopoiesis initiates early from non-hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) precursors and gives rise to myeloid cells transiently during early development; whereas the second or adult wave of myelopoiesis emerges later from HSCs and produces myeloid cells continually during fetal and adult life. In the past decades, a great deal has been learnt about the development of myeloid cells from adult myelopoiesis, yet the genetic network governing embryonic myelopoiesis remains poorly defined. In this report, we present an in vivo study to delineate the role of Cebpα during zebrafish embryonic myelopoiesis. We show that embryonic myelopoiesis in cebpα-deficient zebrafish mutants initiates properly but fails to produce macrophages and neutrophils. The lack of macrophages and neutrophils in the mutants is largely attributed to the cell cycle arrest of embryonic myeloid progenitors, resulting in the impairment of their maintenance and subsequent differentiation. We further show that Cebpα, perhaps acting cooperatively with Runx1, plays a critical role in embryonic neutrophil maintenance. Our findings reveal a new role of Cebpα in embryonic myelopoiesis.