Expression of BCR/ABL and BCL-2 in myeloid progenitors leads to myeloid leukemias

S Jaiswal, D Traver, T Miyamoto… - Proceedings of the …, 2003 - National Acad Sciences
S Jaiswal, D Traver, T Miyamoto, K Akashi, E Lagasse, IL Weissman
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2003National Acad Sciences
Chronic myelogenous leukemia is a myeloproliferative disorder (MPD) that, over time,
progresses to acute leukemia. Both processes are closely associated with the t (9; 22)
chromosomal translocation that creates the BCR/ABL fusion gene in hematopoietic stem
cells (HSCs) and their progeny. Chronic myelogenous leukemia is therefore classified as an
HSC disorder in which a clone of multipotent HSCs is likely to be malignantly transformed,
although direct evidence for malignant t (9; 22)+ HSCs is lacking. To test whether HSC …
Chronic myelogenous leukemia is a myeloproliferative disorder (MPD) that, over time, progresses to acute leukemia. Both processes are closely associated with the t(9;22) chromosomal translocation that creates the BCR/ABL fusion gene in hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) and their progeny. Chronic myelogenous leukemia is therefore classified as an HSC disorder in which a clone of multipotent HSCs is likely to be malignantly transformed, although direct evidence for malignant t(9;22)+ HSCs is lacking. To test whether HSC malignancy is required, we generated hMRP8p210BCR/ABL transgenic mice in which expression of BCR/ABL is absent in HSCs and targeted exclusively to myeloid progenitors and their myelomonocytic progeny. Four of 13 BCR/ABL transgenic founders developed a chronic MPD, but only one progressed to blast crisis. To address whether additional oncogenic events are required for progression to acute disease, we crossed hMRP8p210BCR/ABL mice to apoptosis-resistant hMRP8BCL-2 mice. Of 18 double-transgenic animals, 9 developed acute myeloid leukemias that were transplantable to wild-type recipients. Taken together, these data indicate that a MPD can arise in mice without expression of BCR/ABL in HSCs and that additional mutations inhibiting programmed cell death may be critical in the transition of this disease to blast-crisis leukemia.
National Acad Sciences