Expression data from PML-RAR transgenic mouse APL(acute promyelocyte leukemia) cells

The differentiation of leukemia stem cells (LSCs) is generally regarded as a one-way alterative process to self-renewal. However, how differentiation impacts LSC stemness has largely been unexplored. Here we show that before reaching terminal differentiation (TD), apical LSCs of mouse acute promyelocytic leukemia passed through a partial differentiation (PD) stage, wherein the leukemia cells re-initiated leukemia via de-differentiation albeit at a reduced rate. Notably, while retinoic acid (RA) preferentially drove the transition of LSC to PD, monocytic Irf8 skewed PD cells to terminal maturation over de-differentiation and/or expansion. Remarkably, the combined use of RA and Irf8 induction depleted the total leukemogenic potential, which indicates that discrete stage- or lineage-specific mechanisms elaborate a step-wise LSC differentiation.

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