美國(guó)斯坦福大學(xué)病理系,，表觀遺傳學(xué)系及英國(guó)曼徹斯特大學(xué)癌癥研究中心的科學(xué)家在Cell Stem Cell上發(fā)表最新文章,，揭開白血病干細(xì)胞（癌癥干細(xì)胞的一種）的偽裝，研究發(fā)現(xiàn)相比成體干細(xì)胞,，白血病干細(xì)胞更具有胚胎干細(xì)胞的特征,。
在急性髓細(xì)胞樣白血病發(fā)生過(guò)程中,，白血球過(guò)多癥干細(xì)胞（leukemia stem cells，簡(jiǎn)稱LSCs）維持其多能性的遺傳調(diào)控網(wǎng)絡(luò)一直是個(gè)謎?，F(xiàn)在,，研究者們通過(guò)AML（急性髓細(xì)胞樣白血病）小鼠模型研究這一機(jī)制,。
研究結(jié)果表明,，LSCs的多能性與其致癌基因有極大的關(guān)聯(lián)，其與胚胎干細(xì)胞一樣具有一個(gè)轉(zhuǎn)錄的子程序以維持其自我更新的能力,。在這個(gè)轉(zhuǎn)錄體系中,，轉(zhuǎn)錄因子Myb，Hmgb3和Cbx5起關(guān)鍵的作用,，其中HoxaMeis系統(tǒng)也獨(dú)立地共表達(dá)使得LSCs具有無(wú)限的增殖能力,，這有助LSCs保持與胚胎干細(xì)胞一樣的性能與之共享相同的轉(zhuǎn)錄體系。往往這一結(jié)果會(huì)導(dǎo)致癌癥干細(xì)胞獲得無(wú)限制的自我更新能力,，往往導(dǎo)致癌癥患者預(yù)后不良,。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推薦原始出處：
Cell Stem Cell, Volume 4, Issue 2, 129-140, 6 February 2009
Hierarchical Maintenance of MLL Myeloid Leukemia Stem Cells Employs a Transcriptional Program Shared with Embryonic Rather Than Adult Stem Cells
Tim C.P. Somervaille1,4,Christina J. Matheny1,Gary J. Spencer4,Masayuki Iwasaki1,John L. Rinn2,Daniela M. Witten3,Howard Y. Chang2,Sheila A. Shurtleff5,James R. Downing5andMichael L. Cleary1,,
1 Department of Pathology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
2 Program in Epithelial Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
3 Department of Statistics, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
4 Cancer Research UK Leukaemia Biology Group, Paterson Institute for Cancer Research, University of Manchester, Manchester M20 4BX, UK
5 Department of Pathology, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN 38105, USA
The genetic programs that promote retention of self-renewing leukemia stem cells (LSCs) at the apex of cellular hierarchies in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) are not known. In a mouse model of human AML, LSCs exhibit variable frequencies that correlate with the initiating MLL oncogene and are maintained in a self-renewing state by a transcriptional subprogram more akin to that of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) than to that of adult stem cells. The transcription/chromatin regulatory factors Myb, Hmgb3, and Cbx5 are critical components of the program and suffice for Hoxa/Meis-independent immortalization of myeloid progenitors when coexpressed, establishing the cooperative and essential role of an ESC-like LSC maintenance program ancillary to the leukemia-initiating MLL/Hox/Meis program. Enriched expression of LSC maintenance and ESC-like program genes in normal myeloid progenitors and poor-prognosis human malignancies links the frequency of aberrantly self-renewing progenitor-like cancer stem cells (CSCs) to prognosis in human cancer.
