"Identification of Mechanisms By Which Mesenchymal Stem/Stromal Cells Contribute to Acute Myeloid Leukemia"

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a blood malignancy resulting in abnormal hematopoiesis that is reported to be associated with alterations in the bone marrow microenvironment (BME). Current treatments for this heterogeneous disease, which target the leukemic cells but not the BME, are largely unsuccessful for the majority of AML subtypes. By better understanding the mechanisms by which the BME contributes to leukemogenesis, it may be possible to introduce more effective treatments for AML.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are an essential component of the BME that have been shown to support normal hematopoiesis. Therefore, MSCs may have several roles in the alteration of the BME, leukemogenesis, and AML relapse and can provide an excellent model for studying the BME in vitro. While some studies have characterized AML-derived MSCs (AML-MSCs), their exact role in the disease remains unclear. Our RNAseq analysis of AML-MSCs (n=30), and healthy donor MSCs (HD-MSCs) (n=8) identified that, among 7655 genes, 21 genes were significantly differentially expressed in AML-MSCs. Through in silico analysis of this gene set, genes of interest were identified as having the potential to directly alter the BME and affect AML pathogenesis through BMP/TGF-β pathways.

Current work is focusing on investigation of the effects of selected genes with biological relevance on MSCs intrinsic and extrinsic functional properties. This study will improve our understanding of the role of MSCs in AML BME and help in the discovery of new therapeutic targets.