C/EBPα induces highly efficient macrophage transdifferentiation of selected B-lymphoma /leukemia cell lines and impairs their tumorigenicity
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: Earlier work demonstrated that the transcription factor C/EBPα can convert immature and mature murine B lineage cells into functional macrophages. Testing >20 human lymphoma and leukemia B-cell lines, we found that most can be transdifferentiated at least partially into macrophage-like cells, provided that C/EBPα is expressed at sufficiently high levels. A tamoxifen-inducible subclone of the Seraphina Burkitt lymphoma line, expressing C/EBPαER, could be efficiently converted into phagocytic and quiescent cells with a transcriptome resembling normal macrophages. The converted cells retained their phenotype even when C/EBPα was inactivated, a hallmark of cell reprogramming. Interestingly, C/EBPα induction also impaired the cells' tumorigenicity. Likewise, C/EBPα efficiently converted a B- lymphoblastic leukemia cell line into macrophage-like cells, again dramatically impairing their tumorigenicity. Our experiments show that human cancer cells can be induced to transdifferentiate by C/EBPα into seemingly normal cells at high frequencies and provide a proof of principle for a potential new therapeutic strategy to treat B-cell malignancies.
ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens
PROVIDER: GSE44700 | GEO | 2013/03/14
SECONDARY ACCESSION(S): PRJNA192979
REPOSITORIES: GEO
ACCESS DATA