Phosphoproteomic analysis of AML cell lines identifies leukemic oncogenes

STAT5 is constitutively phosphorylated in leukemic cells in approximately 70% of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients. To identify kinase candidates potentially responsible for STAT5 phosphorylation, we used liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) mass spectrometry to detect phosphoproteins in AML cell lines. We established TEL-ARG and BCR-ABL fusion proteins as the mechanism underlying STAT5 phosphorylation in HT-93 and KBM-3 cells, respectively. In addition, we identified a JAK2 pseudokinase domain mutation in HEL cells and using siRNA downregulation, established JAK2 as the kinase responsible for phosphorylating STAT5. This study illustrates the benefit of LC-MS/MS mass spectrometry and siRNA for the identification of novel targets and mutations.