Molecular variability of FLT3/ITD mutants and their impact on the differentiation program of 32D cells: implications for the biological properties of AML blasts.

ABSTRACT

FLT3 is the most frequently mutated gene in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), with internal tandem duplications (ITDs) accounting for up to 30% of its mutations. To analyze the impact of individual ITDs on the expression profile of immature myeloid cells, we have established 32D cell lines expressing nine different FLT3/ITDs isolated from AML patients and subjected them to whole genome expression profiling and 2DE/LC/MS proteomics. Our data indicate that in comparison to the controls, FLT3/ITD-positive 32D cells exhibit less mature expression profiles resembling early hematopoietic progenitors. Moreover, our results suggest that there exist biological differences among individual ITD variants.