title: Hematopoietic stem cell expansion and distinct myeloid developmental abnormalities in a murine model of the AML1-ETO translocation.
abstract: The t(8;21)(q22;q22) translocation, which fuses the ETO gene on human chromosome 8 with the AML1 gene on chromosome 21 (AML1-ETO), is one of the most frequent cytogenetic abnormalities associated with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). It is seen in approximately 12 to 15% of AML cases and is present in about 40% of AML cases with a French-American-British classified M2 phenotype. We have generated a murine model of the t(8;21) translocation by retroviral expression of AML1-ETO in purified hematopoietic stem cells (HSC). Animals reconstituted with AML1-ETO-expressing cells recapitulate the hematopoietic developmental abnormalities seen in the bone marrow of human patients with the t(8;21) translocation. Primitive myeloblasts were increased to approximately 10% of bone marrow by 10 months posttransplant. Consistent with this observation was a 50-fold increase in myeloid colony-forming cells in vitro. Accumulation of late-stage metamyelocytes was also observed in bone marrow along with an increase in immature eosinophilic myelocytes that showed abnormal basophilic granulation. HSC numbers in the bone marrow of 10-month-posttransplant animals were 29-fold greater than in transplant-matched control mice, suggesting that AML1-ETO expression overrides the normal genetic control of HSC pool size. In summary, AMLI-ETO-expressing animals recapitulate many (and perhaps all) of the developmental abnormalities seen in human patients with the t(8;21) translocation, although the animals do not develop leukemia or disseminated disease in peripheral tissues like the liver or spleen. This suggests that the principal contribution of AML1-ETO to acute myeloid leukemia is the inhibition of multiple developmental pathways.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Genetics, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 1824 6th Avenue South, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA.
authors.forename: Cristina G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: de Guzman
authors.forename: Alan J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Warren
authors.forename: Zheng
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Larry
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gartland
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Erickson
authors.forename: Harry
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Drabkin
authors.forename: Scott W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Hiebert
authors.forename: Christopher A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Klug
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000818:Animals; D001854:Bone Marrow Cells / Q000473:pathology; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000235:genetics; D019070:Cell Lineage; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002908:Chronic Disease; D050676:Core Binding Factor Alpha 2 Subunit; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D018450:Disease Progression; D018380:Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation; D006412:Hematopoietic Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007951:Leukemia, Myeloid / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D019891:Leukopoiesis / Q000235:genetics; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D022423:Myeloid Cells / Q000473:pathology*; D015514:Oncogene Proteins, Fusion / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D000075142:RUNX1 Translocation Partner 1 Protein; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D014161:Transduction, Genetic; D014178:Translocation, Genetic / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: C107844:AML1-ETO fusion protein, human; D050676:Core Binding Factor Alpha 2 Subunit; D015514:Oncogene Proteins, Fusion; D000075142:RUNX1 Translocation Partner 1 Protein; D014157:Transcription Factors