N. Cambier et al., Expression of BCR-ABL in M1 myeloid leukemia cells induces differentiationwithout arresting proliferation, ONCOGENE, 18(2), 1999, pp. 343-352
The mechanism leading to the expanding population of maturing myeloid cells
which characterises chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) remains obscure. Becaus
e of its ability to mimic the proliferative and cell survival functions of
hematopoietic growth factors, me hypothesized that the oncogene activated i
n CML, BCR-ABL, might also influence differentiation. To test this hypothes
is, nle examined the effects of expressing BCR-ABL on the myeloid different
iation of murine M1 leukemic cells, which cease dividing and differentiate
into macrophages in the presence of the cytokines leukemia inhibitory facto
r (LIF) or interleukin (IL)-6, We found that BCR-ABL induced macrophage dif
ferentiation in M1 cells, accompanied by increased expression of macrophage
cell surface markers and the acquisition of phagocytic ability. Interestin
gly, clones of M1 cells which expressed BCR-ABL remained in cell cycle and
were refractory to the growth inhibition and apoptosis induced by IL-6 or L
IF in parental M1 cells. These cells also expressed inappropriately high le
vels of c-MYC mRNA for their degree of differentiation, which may have been
important in maintaining cellular proliferation. These data suggest that B
CR-ABL can stimulate both differentiation and proliferation and that these
characterisitics may contribute to the phenotype observed in CML.