Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a heterogeneous disease caused by a variety of mutations in transcription factors, epigenetic regulators and signaling molecules. To determine how different mutant regulators establish AML subtype-specific transcriptional networks we performed a comprehensive global analysis of cis-regulatory element activity and interaction, transcription factor occupancy and gene expression patterns in purified leukemic blast cells. Here, we focussed on specific sub-groups of patients carrying mutations in genes encoding transcription factors ( RUNX1, CEBPA) and signaling molecules ( FTL3-ITD, RAS, NPM1). Integrated analyses of these data demonstrates that each mutant regulator establishes a specific transcriptional and signaling network unrelated to that seen in normal cells, sustaining the expression of unique sets of genes required for AML growth and maintenance.

SummaryOncogenic transcription factors such as the leukemic fusion protein RUNX1/ETO, which drives t(8;21) acute myeloid leukemia (AML), constitute cancer-specific but highly challenging therapeutic targets. We used epigenomic profiling data for an RNAi screen to interrogate the transcriptional network maintaining t(8;21) AML. This strategy identified Cyclin D2 (CCND2) as a crucial transmitter of RUNX1/ETO-driven leukemic propagation. RUNX1/ETO cooperates with AP-1 to drive CCND2 expression. Knockdown or pharmacological inhibition of CCND2 by an approved drug significantly impairs leukemic expansion of patient-derived AML cells and engraftment in immunodeficient murine hosts. Our data demonstrate that RUNX1/ETO maintains leukemia by promoting cell cycle progression and identifies G1 CCND-CDK complexes as promising therapeutic targets for treatment of RUNX1/ETO-driven AML.

Lack of suitable in vitro culture conditions for primary acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) cells severely impairs their experimental accessibility and the testing of new drugs on cell material reflecting clonal heterogeneity in patients. We show that Nestin-positive human mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) support expansion of a range of biologically and clinically distinct patient-derived ALL samples. Adherent ALL cells showed an increased accumulation in the S phase of the cell cycle and diminished apoptosis when compared with cells in the suspension fraction. Moreover, surface expression of adhesion molecules CD34, CDH2 and CD10 increased several fold. Approximately 20% of the ALL cells were in G0 phase of the cell cycle, suggesting that MSCs may support quiescent ALL cells. Cellular barcoding demonstrated long-term preservation of clonal abundance. Expansion of ALL cells for >3 months compromised neither feeder dependence nor cancer initiating ability as judged by their engraftment potential in immunocompromised mice. Finally, we demonstrate the suitability of this co-culture approach for the investigation of drug combinations with luciferase-expressing primograft ALL cells. Taken together, we have developed a preclinical platform with patient-derived material that will facilitate the development of clinically effective combination therapies for ALL.

To more deeply understand the practice and professional experiences of educators during the 2020 extended school closures, we interviewed 40 teachers from across the country in public, charter, and private schools, at different grade levels, and in different subject areas. From our conversations, three key themes emerged: 1) Student Motivation: Teachers struggled to motivate their students through two layers of computer screens; 2) Professional Loss and Burnout: As they lost familiar means of teaching, teachers also lost a fundamental sense of their own efficacy and professional identity;and, 3) Exacerbated Inequities: This sense of loss grew deeper as teachers witnessed the dramatic intensification of the societal inequalities that had always shaped their students’ lives. Effective planning for school reopening in Fall 2020 will require understanding and addressing these challenges facets of teachers’ experience. We propose five design considerations to plan for resilience: center equity, focus on relationship-building, address student motivation, address staff motivation and burnout, and mitigate uncertainty.Full, de-identified transcripts of most teacher interviews are available at https://osf.io/2fjtc/. Other researchers who have interviewed teachers this spring and summer are encouraged to share their data there as well.

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In this paper, a one-pot and easy-to-handle method at room temperature without additional chemicals for the modification of graphene oxide (GO) with surfactant is found. Removal of nickel (II) ions from aqueous solutions by GO and surfactant (sodium dodecyl sulphate) modified graphene oxide (SDS-GO) was studied spectrophotometrically at room temperature as a function of time, initial concentration and pH. Adsorption capacity of the adsorbent was increased dramatically (from 20.19 to 55.16 mg/g found by Langmuir model) due to the functionalization of the surface by SDS. The driving force of the adsorption of Ni(II) ions is electrostatic attraction and Ni(II) ions adsorbed on the GO surface chemically besides ion exchange.

Growth Factor Independence 1 (GFI1) is a transcriptional repressor that plays a critical role during both myeloid and lymphoid haematopoietic lineage commitment. Several studies have demonstrated the involvement of GFI1 in haematological malignancies and have suggested that low expression of GFI1 is a negative indicator of disease progression for both myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and acute myeloid leukaemia (AML). In this study, we have stratified AML patients into those defined as having a normal karyotype (CN-AML). Unlike the overall pattern in AML, those patients with CN-AML have a poorer survival rate when GFI1 expression is high. In this group, high GFI1 expression is paralleled by higher FLT3 expression, and, even when the FLT3 gene is not mutated, exhibit a FLT3-ITD signature of gene expression. Knock-down of GFI1 expression in the human AML Fujioka cell line led to a decrease in the level of FLT3 RNA and protein and to the down regulation of FLT3-ITD signature genes, thus linking two major prognostic indicators for AML.