Expression in irradiated MEFs exposed to murine acute lymphoblastic leukemia cells

Primary pre-B acute lymphoblastic (ALL) cells do not proliferate long-term ex vivo without the presence of stromal support. We developed and use an ex vivo co-culture model, consisting of mouse leukemic pre-B Bcr/Abl-expressing ALL cells grown with mitotically inactivated mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs). This system provides a generic type of environmentally-mediated protection to the ALL cells, because when the ALL cells are treated with a moderate dose of a therapeutic drug, drug-resistant ALL cells can be recovered after a 1-2 week period of culture. Some of the factors produced by stromal cells that provide protection to ALL cells have been identified. However, it is unclear if the presence of drug-treated ALL cells affects the stromal fibroblasts. The current study was initiated to examine this using expression profiling on the irradiated MEFs.

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Arutyunyan A, Stoddart S, Yi SJ, Fei F, Lim M, Groffen P, Feldhahn N, Groffen J, Heisterkamp N