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Epigenetic mechanisms controlling human leukemia stem cells and therapy resistance [ATAC-seq]

ABSTRACT: Many human cancers, including acute myeloid leukemia (AML), arise from mutations of stem and progenitor cells. Immunophenotypic profiling has shown that leukemia develops hierarchically, with mutations in leukemia stem cells associated with disease propagation and relapse1,2. Although leukemia initiating cells can be enriched using cell surface markers, their frequency tends to be variable and low, obscuring mechanisms and hindering effective therapies3,4. To define AML stem cells in human patients, we performed functional genomic profiling of diverse leukemias using label tracing techniques designed to preserve hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) function in vivo. We found that propagation of human AML is mediated by a rare but distinct quiescent label-retaining cell (LRC) population that evades detection by currently known immunophenotypic markers. We show that human AML LRC quiescence is reversible, sparing genetic clonal competition that maintains its epigenetic inheritance. LRC quiescence is defined by distinct promoter-centered chromatin and gene expression dynamics, and controlled by a novel AP-1/ETS transcription factor network, which is associated with disease persistence and chemotherapy resistance in diverse patients. These results enable prospective isolation and functional genetic manipulation of immunophenotypically-varied leukemia stem cells in human patient specimens, as well as establish the key functions of epigenetic plasticity in leukemia development and therapy resistance. We anticipate that these findings will lead to the elucidation of essential properties of leukemia stem cell quiescence and the design of therapeutic strategies for their clinical identification and control.

ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens

PROVIDER: GSE205989 | GEO | 2024/06/28

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) propagates as a cellular hierarchy which is maintained by a rare subpopulation of self-renewing leukemia-initiating cells (LICs). These LICs phenotypically resemble HSCs and early myeloid progenitors, and they are functionally defined by their ability to reconstitute AML in xenografted mice. Common transcriptional regulators are believed to drive self-renewal of LICs and normal stem cells. Examples include the histone methyltransferase, MLL and its main targets, the transcription factors HOXA9 and MEIS1; the polycomb group protein, BMI-1; and the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway4-9. In AML patients, LICs have been shown to share broad gene expression signatures with hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and, in some cases, with embryonic stem cells (ESCs). Moreover, increased expression of these stem cell signatures has been linked to tumor aggressiveness. Elucidating the molecular determinants of stem cell properties in LICs has the potential to improve AML therapy and clarify the relationship between cancer and stem cell biology in general. Here we show that the propagation of LICs in AML depends on Zfx, a transcription factor required for the self-renewal of ESCs and HSCs. Using mouse models, we found that Zfx is required for AML propagation and LIC maintenance. We defined a Zfx-driven gene expression program in murine LICs that correlates with existing stem cell-related gene expression signatures in AML patients. Using a novel, stroma-based RNAi screening strategy, we identified functionally important Zfx target genes. Two of these genes – FAM92A1 and DOCK7 - are required for human AML cell propagation; moreover, their expression levels strongly correlate with AML patient survival across the full spectrum of AML subtypes. Together, our results characterize a novel gene expression program that orchestrates critical stem cell properties of LICs, and drives aggressiveness of AML. Independent primary MLL-AF9 AML cell lines were created carrying the tamoxifen inducible Cre-ER transgene and either the Zfx wild-type (wt/y) (lines 10977, 10980) or the Zfx conditional (Zfx fl/y) allele (lines 10949, 10950, 10986). AML cells generated from each line were isolated from moribund mice and cultured with or without 4-hydroxytamoxifen for 72 hours to induce Cre. After Cre induction, c-Kit + cells were purified by FACS and processed for microarray studies.

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Epigenetic mechanisms controlling human leukemia stem cells and therapy resistance [ATAC-seq]

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