Description
The tumorigenesis capacity of MLL-AF4 alone is insufficient for causing leukemia. Based on the finding that an Flt3 gene mutation in the tyrosine kinase domain (TKD) was observed in approximately 15% of MLL leukemia, we investigated synergistic leukemogenesis effects of the two genes in vitro. In a mouse IL3-dependent cell line, 32Dc, the expression of MLL-AF4 and Flt3 TKD was induced using a lentiviral vector. We performed gene expression profiling in the MLL-AF4 and the Flt3 TKD+MLL-AF4 expressing 32Dc cells. The enhancement of Hox genes expression was not identified. However, instead, the expression of S100A6, which was involved in the control of cell proliferation, was synergistically enhanced in the presence of both MLL-AF4 and Flt3 TKD genes.