| First Author | Eisenwort G | Year | 2019 |
| Journal | Leukemia | Volume | 33 |
| Issue | 11 | Pages | 2673-2684 |
| PubMed ID | 30953030 | Mgi Jnum | J:282086 |
| Mgi Id | MGI:6370075 | Doi | 10.1038/s41375-019-0460-6 |
| Citation | Eisenwort G, et al. (2019) Identification of a leukemia-initiating stem cell in human mast cell leukemia. Leukemia 33(11):2673-2684 |
| abstractText | Mast cell leukemia (MCL) is a highly fatal malignancy characterized by devastating expansion of immature mast cells in various organs. Although considered a stem cell disease, little is known about MCL-propagating neoplastic stem cells. We here describe that leukemic stem cells (LSCs) in MCL reside within a CD34(+)/CD38(-) fraction of the clone. Whereas highly purified CD34(+)/CD38( horizontal line ) cells engrafted NSGhSCF mice with fully manifesting MCL, no MCL was produced by CD34(+)/CD38(+) progenitors or the bulk of KIT(+)/CD34(-) mast cells. CD34(+)/CD38(-) MCL cells invariably expressed CD13 and CD133, and often also IL-1RAP, but did not express CD25, CD26 or CLL-1. CD34(+)/CD38(-) MCL cells also displayed several surface targets, including CD33, which was homogenously expressed on MCL LSCs in all cases, and the D816V mutant form of KIT. Although CD34(+)/CD38(-) cells were resistant against single drugs, exposure to combinations of CD33-targeting and KIT-targeting drugs resulted in LSC-depletion and markedly reduced engraftment in NSGhSCF mice. Together, MCL LSCs are CD34(+)/CD38(-) cells that express distinct profiles of markers and target antigens. Characterization of MCL LSCs should facilitate their purification and should support the development of LSC-eradicating curative treatment approaches in this fatal type of leukemia. |
