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Preferential expression of a high number of ATP binding cassette transporters in both normal and leukemic CD34+CD38− cells

Leukemia volume 20, pages 750–754 (2006)Cite this article

In most cases of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) malignant stem cells are considered to be within the CD34+CD38− population. The involvement of CD34+CD38− cells in leukemogenesis is suggested by the presence of cytogenetically aberrant cells in the stem cell compartment in AML, as demonstrated by PCR and FISH for leukemia specific translocations. Furthermore, transplantation studies using NOD/SCID mice have shown that cells with leukemic engraftment and self renewal potential are exclusively found within the CD34+CD38− cell population and not in more differentiated CD34+CD38+ populations.1 Incomplete eradication of these primitive cells may eventually lead to disease relapse. Multidrug resistance induced by the expression of ATP binding cassette (ABC) transporters may hamper the eradication of these primitive leukemic cells.

ABC transporters represent the largest family of transmembrane proteins involved in the transport of a wide variety of substrates across biological membranes, including phospholipids, ions, peptides, steroids, polysaccharides, amino acids, organic anions, bile acids, drugs and other xenobiotics. Currently, the ABC superfamily consists of 48 members; that can be divided into seven subfamilies based on similarity in protein structure (ABCA, B, C, D, E, F and G). Some of these transporters (ABCB1, ABCC1 and ABCG2) are expressed at high levels on hematopoietic primitive cells.2

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank late A Pennings and R Woestenenk for excellent flow cytometry assistance. The Hematology Data Base Center Nijmegen is thanked for providing material and clinical data.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Central Hematology Laboratory, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    E P L M de Grouw, J B Boezeman, B A van der Reijden, L T F van de Locht & J H Jansen

  2. Department of Hematology, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    M H G P Raaijmakers, T J M de Witte & R A P Raymakers

  3. These authors contributed equally to this article, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    E P L M de Grouw & M H G P Raaijmakers

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  1. E P L M de Grouw
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Supplementary Information accompanies the paper on the Leukemia website (http://www.nature.com/leu).

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de Grouw, E., Raaijmakers, M., Boezeman, J. et al. Preferential expression of a high number of ATP binding cassette transporters in both normal and leukemic CD34+CD38− cells. Leukemia 20, 750–754 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.leu.2404131

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