Distinct Roles of Hematopoietic Cytokines in the Regulation of Leukemia Stem Cells in Murine MLL-AF9 Leukemia

Lymphoid-primed multipotent progenitor (LMPP)-like and granulocyte-monocyte progenitor (GMP)-like leukemia stem cells (LSCs) co-exist in the blood of most patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Complete elimination of both types of LSCs is required to cure AML. Using an MLL-AF9-induced murine AML model, we studied the role of hematopoietic cytokines in the survival of LMPP- and GMP-like LSCs. We found that SCF or FLT3L promotes the survival of LMPP-like LSCs by stimulating Stat5-mediated Mcl1 expression, whereas interleukin-3 (IL-3) or IL-6 induces the survival of GMP-like LSCs by stimulating Stat3/nuclear factor κB (NF-κB)-mediated Bcl2 expression. Functional study demonstrated that, compared to AML cells cultured in IL-3 and IL-6 medium, AML cells in SCF- or Flt3L-only culture are highly clonogenic in in vitro culture and are highly leukemogenic in vivo. Our study suggests that co-inhibition of both STAT5-MCL1 and STAT3/NF-κB-BCL2 signaling might represent an improved treatment strategy against AML, specifically AML cases with a monocytic phenotype and/or FLT3 mutations.