| First Author | Kobayashi CI | Year | 2014 |
| Journal | Blood | Volume | 123 |
| Issue | 16 | Pages | 2540-9 |
| PubMed ID | 24574458 | Mgi Jnum | J:210745 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:5571786 | Doi | 10.1182/blood-2013-07-517847 |
| Citation | Kobayashi CI, et al. (2014) The IL-2/CD25 axis maintains distinct subsets of chronic myeloid leukemia-initiating cells. Blood 123(16):2540-9 |
| abstractText | Just as normal stem cells require niche cells for survival, leukemia-initiating cells (LICs) may also require niche cells for their maintenance. Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is caused by the activity of BCR-ABL, a constitutively active tyrosine kinase. CML therapy with tyrosine kinase inhibitors is highly effective; however, due to the persistence of residual LICs, it is not curative. Several factors are known to support CML LICs, but purification of LICs and a thorough understanding of their niche signals have not yet been achieved. Using a CML-like mouse model of myeloproliferative disease, we demonstrate that CML LICs can be divided into CD25(+)FcepsilonRIalpha(-) Lineage marker (Lin)(-) Sca-1(+)c-Kit(+) (F(-)LSK) cells and CD25(-)F(-)LSK cells. The CD25(+)F(-)LSK cells had multilineage differentiation capacity, with a preference toward cytokine-producing mast cell commitment. Although cells interconverted between CD25(-)F(-)LSK and CD25(+)F(-)LSK status, the CD25(+)F(-)LSK cells exhibited higher LIC capacity. Our findings suggest that interleukin-2 derived from the microenvironment and CD25 expressed on CML LICs constitute a novel signaling axis. The high levels of CD25 expression in the CD34(+)CD38(-) fraction of human CML cells indicate that CD25(+) LICs constitute an "LIC-derived niche" that could be preferentially targeted in therapy for CML. |
