Stathmin 1 Is Involved In The Highly Proliferative Phenotype Of High-Risk Myelodysplastic Syndromes and Acute Leukemia Cells

: Stathmin 1, also known as Oncoprotein 18 (OP18) or Leukemia-associated phosphoprotein p18 (LAP18), is an important cytoplasmic microtubule-destabilizing protein that plays a critical role in the process of mitosis, proliferation and accurate chromosome segregation through regulation of microtubule dynamics. High levels of Stathmin 1 have been reported in solid tumors and have been associated with poor prognosis in various types of cancers. The identification of overactive proteins in leukemia cells, compared to normal hematopoietic cells, as well as understanding the molecular and cellular basis of the disease may provide new therapeutic opportunities. Aims: To evaluate Stathmin 1 expression in proliferating and non-proliferating hematopoietic cells, in bone marrow cells from healthy donors and from patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and acute lymphoid leukemia (ALL). In addition, we evaluated the effect of Stathmin 1 silencing on proliferation and apoptosis in the U937 acute myeloid leukemia cell line. Materials and Methods: A panel of human leukemia cell lines that included myeloid (K562, KU812, NB4, HL60, P39, HEL, U937, KG1 and THP1) and lymphoid cells (Jurkat, MOLT4, Daudi, Raji, Namalwa and Karpas 422) in exponential growth was used. Peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) were induced, or not, to proliferate upon PHA stimulation for 72 hours. A total of 30 healthy donors and 117 patients at diagnosis (MDS=52 [low-risk=36, high-risk=16], AML=49, and ALL=16) were included in the study. Stathmin 1 gene and protein expression was evaluated by qPCR and Western blot. Stathmin 1 was stably knocked down with specific shRNA-expressing lentiviral vector and cell growth was examined by MTT assay, clonogenicity by colony formation and apoptosis by AnnexinV/PI. Appropriate statistical analyses were performed; results are expressed as median (minimum- maximum). Results: A higher expression of Stathmin 1 was observed in all leukemia cell lines, when compared with normal non-proliferating hematopoietic cells. We also observed a marked increase in Stathmin 1 expression in PBL induced to proliferate with PHA after 72 hours. Stathmin 1 transcripts were significantly increased in total bone marrow cells from patients with AML (2.01 [0.35-8.88]; p=.0009) and ALL (2.94 [1.16-10.82]; p=.0004), compared with healthy donors (1.01 [0.38-4.08]). No difference in Stathmin 1 expression was observed between healthy donors and MDS patients. When the MDS group was stratified by the WHO classification into low and high-risk MDS, Stathmin 1 expression was significantly higher in the high-risk, when compared with low-risk MDS (1.62 [0.42–3.28] vs. 1.13 [0.36–2.61], p=.03). Similar results were found in isolated CD34⁺ bone marrow cells, Stathmin 1 transcripts were significantly increased in CD34⁺ AML cells compared with CD34⁺ normal cells, and in high-risk compared with low-risk MDS (all p≤.02). Interestingly, 3 out of 5 MDS patients showed a significant increase in Stathmin 1 transcripts after disease progression. Also, a significant positive correlation was observed between percentage of bone marrow blasts and Stathmin 1 expression in MDS patients (p=.03; r=.31). In U937 leukemia cells, Stathmin 1 silencing significantly reduced cell proliferation (p=.02) and clonal growth (p<.0001), but did not modulate apoptosis. Conclusions: Stathmin 1 is overexpressed in high-risk MDS and acute leukemia cells, and is upregulated during MDS progression, suggesting that Stathmin 1 plays a role in the highly proliferative phenotype. Our study adds new insights to the role of Stathmin 1 in leukemogenesis. Future studies are necessary to validate whether Stathmin 1 is a predictive marker for MDS progression, and to determinate whether Stathmin 1 is a “driver” or a “passenger” during malignant transformation.

No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.