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Updated: May 3, 2026
Intra-Peritoneal Transplantation for Generating Acute Myeloid Leukemia in Mice
Published on: January 6, 2023
KRAS (G12D) cooperates with AML1/ETO to initiate a mouse model mimicking human acute myeloid leukemia
Shanmin Zhao1, Yuxia Zhang, Kun Sha
1Laboratory Animal Center of Second Military Medical University Shanghai, Shanghai, China.
Background/Aims:
It has been demonstrated that KRAS mutations represent about 90% of cancer-associated mutations, and that KRAS mutations play an essential role in neoplastic transformation. Cancer-associated RAS mutations occur frequently in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), suggesting a functional role for Ras in leukemogenesis.
Methods:
We successfully established a mouse model of human leukemia by transplanting bone marrow cells co-transfected with the K-ras (G12D) mutation and AML1/ETO fusion protein.
Results:
Mice transplanted with AML/ETO+KRAS co-transduced cells had the highest mortality rate than mice transplanted with AML/ETO- or KRAS-transduced cells (115d vs. 150d). Upon reaching a terminal disease stage, EGFP-positive cells dominated their spleen, lymph nodes, peripheral blood and central nervous system tissue. Immunophenotyping, cytologic analyses revealed that AML/ETO+KRAS leukemias predominantly contained immature myeloid precursors (EGFP(+)/c-Kit(+)/Mac-1(-)/Gr-1(-)). Histologic analyses revealed that massive leukemic infiltrations were closely packed in dense sheets that effaced the normal architecture of spleen and thymus in mice transplanted with AML1/ETO + KRAS co-transduced cells. K-ras mRNA and protein expression were upregulated in bone marrow cells of the K-ras group and AML1/ETO + Kras group. The phosphorylation of MEK/ERK was significantly enhanced in the AML1/ETO + Kras group. The similar results of the AML1/ETO + Nras group were consistent with those reported previously.
Conclusion:
Co-transduction of Kras(G12D) and AML1/ETO induces acute monoblastic leukemia. Since expression of mutant K-ras alone was insufficient to induce leukemia, this model may be useful for investigating the multi-step leukemogenesis model of human leukemia.
