Project description:Mutant RAS oncoproteins activate signaling molecules that drive oncogenesis in multiple human tumors including acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). However, the specific function of these pathways in AML is unclear. To elucidate the downstream functions of activated NRAS in AML, we employed a murine model of AML harboring Mll-AF9 and NRASG12V. We found that NRASG12V enforced leukemia self-renewal gene expression signatures and was required to maintain an MLL-AF9 and MYB-dependent gene expression program. In a multiplexed analysis of RAS-dependent signaling intermediates, the leukemia stem cell compartment was preferentially sensitive to RAS withdrawal. Use of RAS-pathway inhibitors showed that NRASG12V maintained leukemia self-renewal through mTOR and MEK pathway activation, implicating these pathways as potential targets for cancer stem cell-specific therapies. Mice harboring NRASG12V/Mll-AF9 AML were treated with doxycyline to abolish NRASG12V expression. Leukemia samples were harvested at 12 hour intervals after doxycyline treatment. RNA was extracted from these samples and submitted for gene expression microarray analysis
Project description:Mutant RAS oncoproteins activate signaling molecules that drive oncogenesis in multiple human tumors including acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). However, the specific function of these pathways in AML is unclear. To elucidate the downstream functions of activated NRAS in AML, we employed a murine model of AML harboring Mll-AF9 and NRASG12V. We found that NRASG12V enforced leukemia self-renewal gene expression signatures and was required to maintain an MLL-AF9 and MYB-dependent gene expression program. In a multiplexed analysis of RAS-dependent signaling intermediates, the leukemia stem cell compartment was preferentially sensitive to RAS withdrawal. Use of RAS-pathway inhibitors showed that NRASG12V maintained leukemia self-renewal through mTOR and MEK pathway activation, implicating these pathways as potential targets for cancer stem cell-specific therapies.
Project description:NRAS proteins are central regulators of proliferation, survival, and self-renewal in leukemia. Previous work demonstrated that the effects of oncogenic NRAS in mediating proliferation and self-renewal are mutually exclusive within leukemia subpopulations and that levels of oncogenic NRAS vary between highly proliferative and self-renewing leukemia subpopulations. These findings suggest that NRAS activity levels may be important determinants of leukemic behavior. To define how oncogenic NRAS levels affect these functions, we genetically engineered an acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cell line, THP-1, to express variable levels of NRASG12V. We replaced the endogenous NRASG12D gene with a tetracycline-inducible and dose-responsive NRASG12V transgene. Cells lacking NRASG12V oncoprotein were cell-cycle arrested. Intermediate levels of NRASG12V induced maximal proliferation; higher levels led to attenuated proliferation, increased G1 arrest, senescence markers, and maximal self-renewal capacity. Higher levels of the oncoprotein also induced self-renewal and mitochondrial genes. We used mass cytometry (CyTOF) to define the downstream signaling events that mediate these differential effects. Not surprisingly, we found that the levels of such canonical RAS-effectors as pERK and p4EBP1 correlated with NRASG12V levels. β-Catenin, a mediator of self-renewal, also correlated with NRASG12V levels. These signaling intermediates may mediate the differential effects of NRASG12V in leukemia biology. Together, these data reveal that oncogenic NRAS levels are important determinants of leukemic behavior explaining heterogeneity in phenotypes within a clone. This system provides a new model to study RAS oncogene addiction and RAS-induced self-renewal in AML.ImplicationsDifferent levels of activated NRAS may exert distinct effects on proliferation and self-renewal.
Project description:Mutant RAS oncoproteins activate signaling molecules that drive oncogenesis in multiple human tumors including acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). However, the specific function of these pathways in AML is unclear. To elucidate the downstream functions of activated NRAS in AML, we employed a murine model of AML harboring Mll-AF9 and NRASG12V. We found that NRASG12V enforced leukemia self-renewal gene expression signatures and was required to maintain an MLL-AF9 and MYB-dependent gene expression program. In a multiplexed analysis of RAS-dependent signaling intermediates, the leukemia stem cell compartment was preferentially sensitive to RAS withdrawal. Use of RAS-pathway inhibitors showed that NRASG12V maintained leukemia self-renewal through mTOR and MEK pathway activation, implicating these pathways as potential targets for cancer stem cell-specific therapies. Mice harboring NRASG12V/Mll-AF9 AML were treated with doxycyline to abolish NRASG12V expression. Leukemia samples were harvested at 24 hour intervals after doxycyline treatment.
Project description:Mutant RAS oncoproteins activate signaling molecules that drive oncogenesis in multiple human tumors including acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). However, the specific function of these pathways in AML is unclear. To elucidate the downstream functions of activated NRAS in AML, we employed a murine model of AML harboring Mll-AF9 and NRASG12V. We found that NRASG12V enforced leukemia self-renewal gene expression signatures and was required to maintain an MLL-AF9 and MYB-dependent gene expression program. In a multiplexed analysis of RAS-dependent signaling intermediates, the leukemia stem cell compartment was preferentially sensitive to RAS withdrawal. Use of RAS-pathway inhibitors showed that NRASG12V maintained leukemia self-renewal through mTOR and MEK pathway activation, implicating these pathways as potential targets for cancer stem cell-specific therapies.
Project description:Mutant RAS oncoproteins activate signaling molecules that drive oncogenesis in multiple human tumors including acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). However, the specific function of these pathways in AML is unclear. To elucidate the downstream functions of activated NRAS in AML, we employed a murine model of AML harboring Mll-AF9 and NRASG12V. We found that NRASG12V enforced leukemia self-renewal gene expression signatures and was required to maintain an MLL-AF9 and MYB-dependent gene expression program. In a multiplexed analysis of RAS-dependent signaling intermediates, the leukemia stem cell compartment was preferentially sensitive to RAS withdrawal. Use of RAS-pathway inhibitors showed that NRASG12V maintained leukemia self-renewal through mTOR and MEK pathway activation, implicating these pathways as potential targets for cancer stem cell-specific therapies. Primary NRASG12V-Mll-AF9 AML cells were treated in vitro for 24 hours with Ras-pathway inhibitors. RNA was extracted from these cells and submitted for RNA sequencing.
Project description:Mutant RAS oncoproteins activate signaling molecules that drive oncogenesis in multiple human tumors including acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). However, the specific function of these pathways in AML is unclear. To elucidate the downstream functions of activated NRAS in AML, we employed a murine model of AML harboring Mll-AF9 and NRASG12V. We found that NRASG12V enforced leukemia self-renewal gene expression signatures and was required to maintain an MLL-AF9 and MYB-dependent gene expression program. In a multiplexed analysis of RAS-dependent signaling intermediates, the leukemia stem cell compartment was preferentially sensitive to RAS withdrawal. Use of RAS-pathway inhibitors showed that NRASG12V maintained leukemia self-renewal through mTOR and MEK pathway activation, implicating these pathways as potential targets for cancer stem cell-specific therapies.
Project description:Prolonged or enhanced expression of the proto-oncogene Lmo2 is associated with a severe form of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL), designated early T-cell precursor ALL, which is characterized by the aberrant self-renewal and subsequent oncogenic transformation of immature thymocytes. It has been suggested that Lmo2 exerts these effects by functioning as component of a multi-subunit transcription complex that includes the ubiquitous adapter Ldb1 along with b-HLH and/or GATA family transcription factors; however, direct experimental evidence for this mechanism is lacking. In this study, we investigated the importance of Ldb1 for Lmo2-induced T-ALL by conditional deletion of Ldb1 in thymocytes in an Lmo2 transgenic mouse model of T-ALL. Our results identify a critical requirement for Ldb1 in Lmo2-induced thymocyte self-renewal and thymocyte radiation resistance and for the transition of preleukemic thymocytes to overt T-ALL. Moreover, Ldb1 was also required for acquisition of the aberrant preleukemic ETP gene expression signature in immature Lmo2 transgenic thymocytes. Co-binding of Ldb1 and Lmo2 was detected at the promoters of key upregulated T-ALL driver genes (Hhex, Lyl1, and Nfe2) in preleukemic Lmo2 transgenic thymocytes, and binding of both Ldb1 and Lmo2 at these sites was reduced following Cre-mediated deletion of Ldb1. Together, these results identify a key role for Ldb1, a nonproto-oncogene, in T-ALL and support a model in which Lmo2-induced T-ALL results from failure to downregulate Ldb1/Lmo2-nucleated transcription complexes which normally function to enforce self-renewal in bone marrow hematopoietic progenitors.