Characterization of bone marrow heterogeneity in NK-AML (M4/M5) based on single-cell RNA sequencing

Wenqi Wu; Zeyan Shi; Zhongyuan Tang; Huiqun Li; Xiaoke Huang; Xiaolin Liang; Jing Li; Yibin Yao; Weihua Zhao; Meiqing Wu; Jun Luo; Zhenfang Liu

doi:10.1186/s40164-023-00391-5

Characterization of bone marrow heterogeneity in NK-AML (M4/M5) based on single-cell RNA sequencing

Exp Hematol Oncol. 2023 Mar 6;12(1):25. doi: 10.1186/s40164-023-00391-5.

Authors

Wenqi Wu^#¹, Zeyan Shi^#¹, Zhongyuan Tang¹, Huiqun Li¹, Xiaoke Huang¹, Xiaolin Liang¹, Jing Li¹, Yibin Yao¹, Weihua Zhao¹, Meiqing Wu¹, Jun Luo¹, Zhenfang Liu²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Hematology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, China.
² Department of Hematology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, China. liuzhenfang@gxmu.edu.cn.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Normal karyotype acute myeloid leukemia (NK-AML) is a heterogeneous hematological malignancy that contains a minor population of self-renewing leukemia stem cells (LSCs), which complicate efforts to achieve long-term survival. We performed single-cell RNA sequencing to profile 39,288 cells from 6 bone marrow (BM) aspirates including 5 NK-AML (M4/M5) patients and 1 healthy donor. The single-cell transcriptome atlas and gene expression characteristics of each cell population in NK-AML (M4/M5) and healthy BM were obtained. In addition, we identified a distinct LSC-like cluster with possible biomarkers in NK-AML (M4/M5) and verified 6 genes using qRT‒PCR and bioinformatic analyses. In conclusion, we utilized single-cell technologies to provide an atlas of NK-AML (M4/M5) cell heterogeneity, composition, and biomarkers with implications for precision medicine and targeted therapies.

Keywords: Heterogeneity; Leukemia stem cell; Normal karyotype acute myeloid leukemia; Single-cell RNA sequencing.

Abstract

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