Journal
BLOOD
Volume 120, Issue 4, Pages 868-879Publisher
AMER SOC HEMATOLOGY
DOI: 10.1182/blood-2012-03-414649
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Funding
- National Institutes of Health (NIH) [CA096983, T32 CA130807]
- Dutch Cancer Society Koningin Wilhelmina Fonds
- University of Massachusetts Diabetes Endocrinology Research Center [DK32520]
- Center for AIDS Research [P30A1042845]
- Leukemia & Lymphoma Society [1334-08]
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Oncogenic mutations in components of cytokine signaling pathways elicit ligand-independent activation of downstream signaling, enhancing proliferation and survival in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The myeloproliferative leukemia virus oncogene, MPL, a homodimeric receptor activated by thrombopoietin (THPO), is mutated in myeloproliferative disorders but rarely in AML. Here we show that wild-type MPL expression is increased in a fraction of human AML samples expressing RUNX1-ETO, a fusion protein created by chromosome translocation t(8;21), and that up-regulation of Mpl expression in mice induces AML when coexpressed with RUNX1-ETO. The leukemic cells are sensitive to THPO, activating survival and proliferative responses. Mpl expression is not regulated by RUNX1-ETO in mouse hematopoietic progenitors or leukemic cells. Moreover, we find that activation of PI3K/AKT but not ERK/MEK pathway is a critical mediator of the MPL-directed antiapoptotic function in leukemic cells. Hence, this study provides evidence that up-regulation of wild-type MPL levels promotes leukemia development and maintenance through activation of the PI3K/AKT axis, and suggests that inhibitors of this axis could be effective for treatment of MPL-positive AML. (Blood. 2012;120(4):868-879)
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