Expression and incorporation of microRNA in exosomes released by leukemia cells under room air and hypoxia

We recently showed that exosomes from primary AML cells and cell lines have potent regulatory capacity and we hypothesized that leukemia cell exosome trafficking might account for the suppression of residual hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPC) in the leukemic niche. Here we studied Molm-14 cells in in vitro experiments using purified exosomes under carefully calibrated low-oxygen conditions. This approach revealed the active regulation of stromal- and hematopoietic progenitor cell function. Systematic analysis of AML exosomes identified a panel of differentially enriched hypoxia-responsive miRNAs, including miR-210, -155, and -146a. We cultured cells under normoxic and hypoxic conditions. Exosomes were released from the parental cells and captured. Total RNA was isolated from both exosomes and cells. Please note that the sample numbers (in the titles) do differ from pair identification (i.e. pair ID) as the pair is only in reference to the paired-t test and parental vs. released pairs.