IntroductionMegakaryocytes (MKs) are platelet precursors in the bone marrow (BM) that undergo a complex maturation process called megakaryopoiesis. A hallmark of MK development occurs after their commitment to the MK lineage, in which MKs go through iterative rounds of endomitosis to become large polyploid cells. These cells can contain DNA content of up to and greater than 128N, with 2N being normal diploid DNA content. 1 The primary stimulus for progression of megakaryopoiesis is known to stem from thrombopoietin (TPO) signaling through the c-Mpl receptor 2 ; however, despite this being the focus of many studies, much of TPO signaling in MKs remains unclear.Recently, investigations of reactive oxygen species (ROS), their generation, and downstream signaling effects have shown that low physiologic levels of ROS play a role in promoting cell proliferation in many cells types, such as fibroblast, prostate, macrophage, endothelial, and vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). 3-7 ROSproducing enzymes, such as a member of the NADPH oxidase (Nox) family, Nox1, have been described to be activated by mitogenic stimuli 8 and to produce ROS that have been shown to induce and maintain G 1 phase cyclin D1 expression in mouse lung epithelial cells. 9 Similarly, Havens et al 10 showed that ROSs increase in a cell cycle-dependent manner and oscillate with every cell division in human T98G glioblastoma cells, human leukemic T cells, and NIH 3T3 cells. Although, these investigators did not identify the source of ROS in these cells, they did show that on treatment with various antioxidants, cells undergo transient arrest and fail to make a timely G 1 -S phase progression. [11][12][13] In addition, Havens et al 10 described redox control over the activity of the anaphase promoting complex (APC) in association with Cdh1, mediating cyclin A degradation, a regulator of the G 1 /S transition. In the MK endomitotic cell cycle, cyclin D3 has been described as the predominant D-type cyclin that is up-regulated by TPO stimulation and induces high ploidy levels in cyclin D3 transgenic mice. 14-16 Ablation of cyclin D3 in cultured MKs results in a notable decrease in MK ploidy level, 16 although in vivo studies show a less dramatic effect on ploidy possibly because of compensation by other D cyclins. 17 Cyclin E is another G 1 phase cell-cycle regulator that has been suggested to play a role in MK ploidy promotion, notably inducing nonendomitotic megakaryoblastic K562 cells to undergo re-replication cycles. 18 The importance of cyclin E in promotion of ploidy is also supported by evidence from the cyclin E1 Ϫ/Ϫ E2 Ϫ/Ϫ double knockout (KO) mice produced with the use of the tetraploid complementation rescue method. 19 Interestingly, these mice developed normally with the exception of ploidy promotion in trophoblasts and MKs, showing a marked reduction in polyploid MKs even when cultured with TPO.To date, investigation of ROS in MKs has been limited to studies that used human megakaryocytic leukemic cell lines, such as MO7e and B1647 cells. 11,...