Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients suffer dismal prognosis upon treatment resistance. To study functional heterogeneity of resistance, we generated serially transplantable patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models from one patient with AML and twelve clones thereof, each derived from a single stem cell, as proven by genetic barcoding. Transcriptome and exome sequencing segregated clones according to their origin from relapse one or two. Undetectable for sequencing, multiplex fluorochrome-guided competitive in vivo treatment trials identified a subset of relapse two clones as uniquely resistant to cytarabine treatment. Transcriptional and proteomic profiles obtained from resistant PDX clones and refractory AML patients defined a 16-gene score that was predictive of clinical outcome in a large independent patient cohort. Thus, we identified novel genes related to cytarabine resistance and provide proof of concept that intra-tumor heterogeneity reflects inter-tumor heterogeneity in AML.
Institute(s)Research Unit Apoptosis in Hematopoietic Stem Cells (AHS)
GrantsGerman Research Foundation (DFG/Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize) Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen Dr. Helmut Legerlotz Stiftung Bettina Brau Stiftung DFG German Cancer Aid European Research Council German Research Foundation (DFG) Collaborative Research Center 1243 "Genetic and Epigenetic Evolution of Hematopoietic Neoplasms"