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The role of quiescent thymic progenitors in TAL/LMO2-induced T-ALL chemotolerance

ABSTRACT: Relapse in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) may signify the persistence of leukemia-initiating cells (L-ICs). Ectopic TAL1/LMO expression defines the largest subset of T-ALL, but its role in leukemic transformation and its impact on relapse-driving L-ICs remain poorly understood. In TAL1/LMO mouse models, double negative-3 (DN3; CD4−CD8−CD25+CD44−) thymic progenitors harbored L-ICs. However, only a subset of DN3 leukemic cells exhibited L-IC activity, and studies linking L-ICs and chemotolerance are needed. To investigate L-IC heterogeneity, we used mouse models and applied single-cell RNA-sequencing and nucleosome labeling techniques in vivo. We identified a DN3 subpopulation with a cell cycle–restricted profile and heightened TAL1/LMO2 activity, that expressed genes associated with stemness and quiescence. This dormant DN3 subset progressively expanded throughout leukemogenesis, displaying intrinsic chemotolerance and enrichment in genes linked to minimal residual disease. Examination of TAL/LMO patient samples revealed a similar pattern in CD7+CD1a− thymic progenitors, previously recognized for their L-IC activity, demonstrating cell cycle restriction and chemotolerance. Our findings substantiate the emergence of dormant, chemotolerant L-ICs during leukemogenesis, and demonstrate that Tal1 and Lmo2 cooperate to promote DN3 quiescence during the transformation process. This study provides a deeper understanding of TAL1/LMO-induced T-ALL and its clinical implications in therapy failure.

ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus

PROVIDER: GSE260948 | GEO | 2024/03/09

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:T-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (T-ALL) can be classified into a number of subfamilies, including those that overexpress TAL1/LMO, TLX1/3 and HOXA transcription factors. Whilst it has been previously shown in mouse models that TAL1/LMO transcription factors induce thymocyte self-renewal, whether this is the case for other transcription factor subclasses is currently unknown. To address this, we have studied vav-Nup98-HoxD13-transgenic (NHD13-Tg) mice, a model of HOXA-driven T-ALL, which overexpress HOXA transcription factors throughout haematopoiesis and display features of myelodysplastic syndrome in the bone marrow along with T-cell developmental abnormalities in the thymus and subsequent development of T-ALL in approximately 15% of mice. Thymocytes from preleukemic NHD13-Tg mice could engraft long-term in serial transplantation assays, demonstrating that NHD13-Tg thymocytes have acquired self-renewal capacity. Transcriptome analysis showed that NHD13-Tg thymocytes exhibited a Stem Cell like transcriptional program which closely resembled that of Lmo2 transgenic thymocytes, including Lmo2 itself and the critical Lmo2 cofactor Lyl1, suggesting a common mechanism of thymocyte self-renewal in these models. To determine whether Lmo2/Lyl1 are required for NHD13-induced thymocyte self-renewal, NHD13-Tg mice were crossed with Lyl1 knockout mice to generate NHD13-Tg mice lacking Lyl1. This showed that Lyl1 is essential for expression of the stem cell-like gene expression program in NHD13-Tg thymocytes and for thymocyte self-renewal. Surprisingly however, absence of Lyl1 accelerated the onset of T-ALL in NHD13-Tg mice. These studies demonstrate that Lyl1 is essential for self-renewal of NHD13-Tg thymocytes, suggesting that Lmo2 and Lyl1 may mediate thymocyte self-renewal induced by a variety of T-cell oncogenes. However, whilst Lyl1-induced thymocyte self-renewal is essential for Lmo2-driven T-cell leukemia, NHD13 can also promote T-ALL via an alternative pathway.

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­­­­The role of quiescent thymic progenitors in TAL/LMO2-induced T-ALL chemotolerance

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The role of quiescent thymic progenitors in TAL/LMO2-induced T-ALL chemotolerance