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Updated: Jan 10, 2026

Flow Cytometry to Estimate Leukemia Stem Cells in Primary Acute Myeloid Leukemia and in Patient-derived-xenografts, at Diagnosis and Follow Up
Published on: March 26, 2018
Tracking leukemic residuals: dissecting the inverse relationship between CD26+ stem cells and extracellular BCR::ABL1
Silvia Mutti1,2, Alessia Cavalleri1,2, Anna Sicuranza3
1Unit of Blood Diseases and Bone Marrow Transplant, Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences (DSCS), Università di Brescia, ASST Spedali Civili, Brescia 25123, Italy.
Abstract:
Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) persists due to leukemic stem cells, notably the CD26+ subset. We investigated correlations between circulating CD26+ leukemic stem cells (LSCs) and BCR::ABL1 transcripts in an extracellular vesicle-enriched secretome (EVES) from plasma samples of 44 CML patients. EVES were characterized and BCR::ABL1 quantified via digital PCR. We observed an inverse correlation between CD26+LSC counts and EVES BCR::ABL1 levels, especially in deep molecular responders (DMR). CD26+LSCs were elevated in patients in treatment-free remission (TFR), while EVES BCR::ABL1 levels were higher in those receiving therapy. These findings suggest distinct dynamics between LSC populations and vesicle-mediated transcript release, with potential implications for CML monitoring and prognosis.
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