Murine Retrovirally-Transduced Bone Marrow Engraftment Models of MLL-Fusion-Driven Acute Myelogenous Leukemias (AML)

MLL-rearranged leukemia represents approximately 5% to 10% of adult acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) and nearly half of all infant/pediatric acute leukemia cases. These leukemias have a poor prognosis, and there are no approved therapeutic options. The rearrangement in the MLL gene leads to aberrant expression of MLL-fusion proteins. These are transforming in murine bone marrow and, in particular, on stem cells and myeloid progenitors derived from bone marrow or fetal liver. The commonality of the MLL fusions is the in-frame fusion of 8 to 11 N-terminal exons of MLL1 (KMT2a) with the C-terminus of a partner fusion gene. Currently, over 80 different fusion partners are known. The protocols detailed in this unit focus on bone marrow-derived models only, using one particular MLL fusion, MLL-AF9. These models have proven effective for drug screening to predict clinical response. © 2017 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.