MLL-EB1 fusion immortalized murine bone marrow cells

Background: MLL (KMT2A)-EB1 (MAPRE1) fusion was identified in a patient with de novo pro-B acute lymphoblastic leukemia. To investigate the leukemogenesis of MLL-EB1 fusion, a retroviral transduction of MLL-EB1 to murine bone marrow cells was performed. A frequent MLL fusion, MLL-AF10(OM-LZ), was used as a positive control. Results: Two MLL-EB1 immortalized cell lines (ME1 and ME2G), and a MLL-AF10(OM-LZ) immortalized cell line (12G) were generated. Microarray results showed that many genes including Evi1 and Ets1 were differentially expressed in ME1/ME2G and 12G cell lines. Total RNAs were extracted from the cell lines and used to perform microarray analysis using Affymetrix mouse 430_2.0 chip. The genes with differential expression between ME1/ME2G and 12G cell lines were selected and validated with reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction.