Stat5-deficient hematopoiesis is permissive for Myc-induced B-cell leukemogenesis

Despite being an attractive molecular target for both lymphoid and myeloid leukemias characterized by activated tyrosine kinases, the molecular and physiological consequences of reduced signal transducer and activator of transcription-5 (Stat5) during leukemogenesis are not well known. Stat5 is a critical regulator of mouse hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) self-renewal and is essential for normal lymphocyte development. We report that pan-hematopoietic deletion in viable adult Vav1-Cre conditional knockout mice as well as Stat5ab(null/null) fetal liver transplant chimeras generated HSCs with reduced expression of quiescence regulating genes (Tie2, Mpl, Slamf1, Spi1, Cited2) and increased expression of B-cell development genes (Satb1, Dntt, Btla, Flk2). Using a classical murine B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) model, we demonstrate that these HSCs were also poised to produce a burst of B-cell precursors upon expression of Bcl-2 combined with oncogenic Myc. This strong selective advantage for leukemic transformation in the background of Stat5 deficient hematopoiesis was permissive for faster initiation of Myc-induced transformation to B-ALL. However, once established, the B-ALL progression in secondary transplant recipients was Stat5-independent. Overall, these studies suggest that Stat5 can play multiple important roles that not only preserve the HSC compartment but can limit accumulation of potential pre-leukemic lymphoid populations.