Multiple genetic hits are detected in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). To investigate this further, we developed a tetracycline-inducible mouse model of AML, in which the initial transforming event, overexpression of HOXA10, can be eliminated. Continuous overexpression of HOXA10 is required to generate AML in primary recipient mice, but is not essential for maintenance of the leukemia. Transplantation of AML to secondary recipients showed that in established leukemias, ∼80% of the leukemia-initiating cells (LICs) in bone marrow stopped proliferating upon withdrawal of HOXA10 overexpression. However, the population of LICs in primary recipients is heterogeneous, as ∼20% of the LICs induce leukemia in secondary recipients despite elimination of HOXA10-induced overexpression. Intrinsic genetic activation of several proto-oncogenes was observed in leukemic cells resistant to inactivation of the initial transformation event. Interestingly, high levels of the adhesion molecule CD44 on leukemic cells are essential to generate leukemia after removal of the primary event. This suggests that extrinsic niche-dependent factors are also involved in the host-dependent outgrowth of leukemias after withdrawal of HOXA10 overexpression event that initiates the leukemia.
3154 Multiple genetic hits are detected in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). To investigate this further, we developed a tetracycline inducible mouse model of AML, where the initial transforming event, overexpression of HOXA10, can be eliminated. Continuous overexpression of HOXA10 is required to generate AML in primary recipient mice, but is not essential for maintenance of the leukemia. Transplantation of AML to secondary recipients showed that in established leukemias, ∼80% of the leukemia-initiating cells (LICs) in bone marrow stopped proliferating upon withdrawal of HOXA10 overexpression. However, the population of LICs in primary recipients is heterogeneous since ∼20% of the LICs induce leukemia in secondary recipients despite elimination of HOXA10 induced overexpression (HOXA10OFF). Since the withdrawal of the initial transforming event can be made upon demand, we have been able to ask what co-operating events are essential to maintain growth of leukemic cells as overexpression of HOXA10 is removed. Intrinsic genetic activation of several proto-oncogenes was observed in leukemic cells resistant to inactivation of the initial transformation event. We have identified a frequent increase in the activation of the proto-oncogenes JUN, FOS and EGR1 in relapsed leukemia where overexpression of HOXA10 has been withdrawn (HOXA10OFF versus HOXA10ON conditions). In order to further investigate if another possible mechanism is involved in leukemia, upon withdrawal of the primary oncogenic event, we performed proteomic analysis using mass spectrometry. Interestingly, we observed that upon removal of the primary event, leukemia that continued to grow produced high levels of several proteins involved in cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions. Among these proteins, CD44 is expressed on the cell surface and participates in cell transmigration and is an important target, since this surface glycoprotein mediates cell adhesion, migration and homing of hematopoietic cancer cells. To determine whether an increase in CD44 is a key mechanism by which LICs are resistant, we performed a functional test by FACS sorting leukemic cells generated in primary donors and transplanted 20,000 cells expressing different levels of the CD44 surface marker (CD44low, CD44medium and CD44high) in the tail vein of lethally irradiated secondary recipient mice fed doxycycline or ciproxine. When we monitored mice for occurrence of leukemia, outgrowth of leukemic cells was not dependant on the CD44 protein level on the HOXA10ON (doxycycline) condition. Consistent with this, onset of leukemia was not delayed for mice transplanted with CD44low leukemic cells. When mice were fed with ciproxine to turn off HOXA10 overexpression, all mice injected with CD44high leukemic cells developed leukemia, whereas all mice injected with CD44low leukemic cells remained healthy. In conclusion, we confirmed that withdrawal of the initial HOXA10 oncogene promotes the outgrowth of LICs expressing high levels of CD44. This study suggests that extrinsic niche-dependent factors are also involved in the host-dependent outgrowth of leukemias after withdrawal of HOXA10 overexpression event that initiates the leukemia. Here we demonstrate the highly aggressive nature of LICs expressing high levels of CD44 and conversely, show the impaired outgrowth of LICs expressing low levels of this surface marker. In conclusion, our murine model of inducible HOXA10 expression recapitulates many of the features of human AML and is helpful to analyse the “oncogene addiction” and unravel the basic mechanisms involved in initiation and maintenance of leukemia, and to study whether adhesion molecules expressed on the surface of leukemic cells are important factors for leukemic relapse in the microenvironmental niches of the bone marrow. Our findings support the notion that cell intrinsic genetic events are not the only factors causing leukemic relapse, but suggest that host-dependant extrinsic factors in the bone marrow niche may also play a fundamental role in the mechanism mediating leukemic relapse. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Pigment epithelium derived factor (PEDF), a ubiquitously expressed 50 kDa secreted glycoprotein, was recently discovered to regulate self-renewal of neural stem cells and have a supportive effect on human embryonic stem cell growth. Here, we analyzed expression of PEDF in the murine hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) compartments and found that PEDF is highly expressed in primary long-term HSCs. Therefore, we characterized the hematopoietic system in a knockout mouse model for PEDF and using this model we surprisingly found that PEDF is dispensable for HSC regulation. PEDF knockout mice exhibit normal hematopoiesis in steady state conditions and the absence of PEDF lead to normal regeneration capacity in a serial competitive transplantation setting. Additionally, PEDF-deficient cells exhibit unaltered lineage distribution upon serial transplantations. When human cord blood stem and progenitor cells were cultured in media supplemented with recombinant PEDF they did not show changes in growth potential. Taken together, we report that PEDF is not a critical regulatory factor for HSC function during regeneration in vivo or growth of human stem/progenitor cells in vitro.
Life-long production of blood from hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) is a process of strict modulation. Intrinsic and extrinsic signals govern fate options like self-renewal – a cardinal feature of HSC. Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMP) have an established role in embryonic hematopoiesis, but less is known about its functions in adulthood. Previously, SMAD-mediated BMP signaling has been proven dispensable for HSC. However, the BMP type-II receptor (BMPR-II) is highly expressed in HSC, leaving the possibility that BMP function via alternative pathways. Here, we establish that BMP signaling is required for selfrenewal of adult HSC. Through conditional knockout we show that BMPR-II deficient HSC have impaired self-renewal and regenerative capacity. BMPR-II deficient cells have reduced p38 activation, implying that non-SMAD pathways operate downstream of BMP in HSC. Indeed, a majority of primitive hematopoietic cells do not engage in SMADmediated responses downstream of BMP in vivo . Furthermore, deficiency of BMPR-II results in increased expression of TJP1 , a known regulator of self-renewal in other stem cells, and knockdown of TJP1 in primitive hematopoietic cells partly rescues the BMPR-II null phenotype. This suggests TJP1 may be a universal stem cell regulator. In conclusion, BMP signaling, in part mediated through TJP1, is required endogenously by adult HSC to maintain self-renewal capacity and proper resilience of the hematopoietic system during regeneration.
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