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Transient depletion of RUNX1/RUNX1T1 by RNA interference delays tumour formation in vivo

Leukemia volume 23, pages 188–190 (2009)Cite this article

Chromosomal translocation t(8;21)(q22;q22) occurs in about 10% of all cases of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) and is one of the most frequent chromosomal abnormalities found in AML.1 This translocation generates the RUNX1/RUNX1T1 (AML1/MTG8, AML1/ETO) fusion gene, which by itself is not sufficient for full leukaemic transformation, but which supports human haematopoietic stem/progenitor cell self-renewal in vivo as well as leukaemic proliferation and clonogenicity ex vivo.2, 3, 4 Generation of RUNX1/RUNX1T1 may not only be an initiating event in leukaemogenesis, but might also become a leukaemia-specific target for therapeutic approaches. However, its role in leukaemic persistence in vivo and, in particular, its significance for leukaemic stem cells has not been established yet.

One prerequisite for studying possible functions of RUNX1/RUNX1T1 in maintaining leukaemia in vivo and the development of therapies targeting this genetic lesion is the availability of suitable animal model systems. Several transgenic and knock-in mouse models have been developed to study RUNX1/RUNX1T1-driven leukaemogenesis in murine haematopoietic cells.5 However, in vivo studies of RUNX1/RUNX1T1 in the human leukaemic background are currently limited due to a lack of suitable xenotransplantation models, as t(8;21)-positive leukaemic cells including the established cell lines do not or only rarely engraft in Nod/Scid mouse strains.6

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Molecular Biology, Interfaculty Institute for Cell Biology, Eberhard Karls University Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany

    N Martinez Soria & O Heidenreich

  2. Hematopoiesis Laboratory, Institute for Research in Biomedicine, Bellinzona, Switzerland

    R Tussiwand, P Ziegler & M G Manz

  3. Molecular Paediatric Oncology Laboratory, Northern Institute for Cancer Research, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

    O Heidenreich

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  1. N Martinez Soria
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  2. R Tussiwand
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  3. P Ziegler
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  5. O Heidenreich
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Correspondence to O Heidenreich.

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Soria, N., Tussiwand, R., Ziegler, P. et al. Transient depletion of RUNX1/RUNX1T1 by RNA interference delays tumour formation in vivo. Leukemia 23, 188–190 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/leu.2008.157

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