EXPRESSION PROFILE OF SOME MARKERS OF LEUKEMIC STEM CELLS IN ACUTE MYELOID LEUKEMIA

Abstract

Summary. Aim: identification of a potential pool of leukemic stem cells based on the combined expression of CD34, CD38 and CD117 in different acute myeloid leukemia (AML) subtypes. Object and methods: the studies were conducted on samples of bone marrow aspirates from 54 patients with newly diagnosed and untreated AML. The profile of the expression of surface antigens on leukemic (blast) cells of AML patients was studied by flow cytometry. Results: differences were found in the number of CD34+CD38–, CD34+CD38+, CD34–CD117+ and CD34+CD117+ cells, which can be leukemic stem cells (LSCs), among patients with different AML subtypes. The median percentage of CD34+CD38– cells in M2 AML (3.9%) and M3 AML (2.5%) is significantly lower than in M1 AML (11.3%) and M5 AML (13.0%), while the content of CD34+CD38+ cells is most represented in M2 AML and M5 AML. The analysis of the combined expression of CD34 and CD117 shows that M3 AML is more characterized by the presence of a population of CD34–CD117+ cells, while M1 AML and M5 AML are characterized by CD34+CD117+ blasts. Conclusion: in all studied AML subtypes, compartments of malignantly transformed cells, that potentially may be LSCs have been identified and are determined by the combined expression of CD34, CD38 and CD117. These studies are promising, since the definition of LSCs is the foundation for effective targeted therapy in patients with AML.