MUC1 Is a Potential Target for the Treatment of Acute Myeloid Leukemia Stem Cells

作者：Stroopinsky Dina; Rosenblatt Jacalyn; Ito Keisuke; Mills Heidi; Yin Li; Rajabi Hasan; Vasir Baldev; Kufe Turner; Luptakova Katarina; Arnason Jon; Nardella Caterina; Levine James D; Joyce Robin M; Galinsky Ilene; Reiter Yoram; Stone Richard M; Pandolfi Pier Paolo; Kufe Donald; Avigan David^*

来源：Cancer Research, 2013, 73(17): 5569-5579.

DOI：10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-13-0677

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a malignancy of stem cells with an unlimited capacity for self-renewal. MUC1 is a secreted, oncogenic mucin that is expressed aberrantly in AML blasts, but its potential uses to target AML stem cells have not been explored. Here, we report that MUC1 is highly expressed on AML CD34(+)/lineage(-)/CD38 cells as compared with their normal stem cell counterparts. MUC1 expression was not restricted to AML CD34(+) populations as similar results were obtained with leukemic cells from patients with CD34(-) disease. Engraftment of AML stem cell populations that highly express MUC1 (MUC1(high)) led to development of leukemia in NOD-SCID IL2Rgamma(nul)l (NSG) immunodeficient mice. In contrast, MUC1(low) cell populations established normal hematopoiesis in the NSG model. Functional blockade of the oncogenic MUC1-C subunit with the peptide inhibitor GO-203 depleted established AML in vivo, but did not affect engraftment of normal hematopoietic cells. Our results establish that MUC1 is highly expressed in AML stem cells and they define the MUC1-C subunit as a valid target for their therapeutic eradication.

• 出版日期2013-9-1