Hematopoietic stem cell expansion precedes the generation of committed myeloid leukemia-initiating cells in C/EBPalpha mutant AML.
Bereshchenko O., Mancini E., Moore S., Bilbao D., Månsson R., Luc S., Grover A., Jacobsen SEW., Bryder D., Nerlov C.
We here use knockin mutagenesis in the mouse to model the spectrum of acquired CEBPA mutations in human acute myeloid leukemia. We find that C-terminal C/EBPalpha mutations increase the proliferation of long-term hematopoietic stem cells (LT-HSCs) in a cell-intrinsic manner and override normal HSC homeostasis, leading to expansion of premalignant HSCs. However, such mutations impair myeloid programming of HSCs and block myeloid lineage commitment when homozygous. In contrast, N-terminal C/EBPalpha mutations are silent with regards to HSC expansion, but allow the formation of committed myeloid progenitors, the templates for leukemia-initiating cells. The combination of N- and C-terminal C/EBPalpha mutations incorporates both features, accelerating disease development and explaining the clinical prevalence of this configuration of CEBPA mutations.