Silencing the polarity protein Scribble in murine hematopoietic progenitor cells

It has been shown that the polarity protein Scribble is required for T-cell migration, which itself is important for lymphocyte development. To study its effects on B-cell development and migration, Scribble gene expression was silenced using a self-inactivating retroviral expression vector that produces a small hairpin RNA in murine hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs). Infected HPCs were then allowed to differentiate into B lymphocytes on an OP9 bone marrow stromal cell line. Silencing of Scribble expression in HPCs did not inhibit commitment to the B-cell lineage. However, these B lineage cells failed to survive in culture over a period of three weeks. The loss of B lymphocytes may indicate a role for the protein Scribble in B-cell proliferation, survival, and cell death.