- Chen, Fang;
- Zhao, Dandan;
- Xu, Yongfang;
- Zhang, Yi;
- Chen, Min-Hsuan;
- Pathak, Khyatiben;
- Hansen, Nate;
- Lovell, Brooke;
- Liang, Yong;
- Estrella, Katrina;
- Wang, Wei-Le;
- Ghoda, Lucy;
- Rockne, Russell;
- Wu, Xiwei;
- Ali, Haris;
- Yu, Jianhua;
- Caligiuri, Michael;
- Forman, Stephen;
- Trent, Jeff;
- Kuo, Ya-Huei;
- Li, Ling;
- Swiderski, Piotr;
- Zhang, Jianying;
- Kortylewski, Marcin;
- Nguyen, Le;
- Pirrotte, Patrick;
- Boldin, Mark;
- Marcucci, Guido;
- Zhang, Bin
We reported that an acquired miR-142 deficit transforms chronic phase (CP) chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) leukemic stem cells (LSCs) into blast crisis (BC) LSCs. Given the role of miR-142 in the development and activity of the immune system, we postulated that this deficit also promotes LSC immune escape. Herein, we report on IL-6-driven miR-142 deficit occurring in T cells during BC transformation. In CML murine models, miR-142 deficit impairs thymic differentiation of lymphoid-primed multipotent progenitors (LMPP) into T cells and prevents T cells metabolic reprogramming, thereby leading to loss of T cells and leukemia immune escape. Correcting miR-142 deficit with a miR-142 mimic compound (M-miR-142), alone or in combination with immune checkpoint antibodies, restores T cell number and immune activity, leading to LSC elimination and prolonged survival of BC CML murine and patient-derived xenograft models. These observations may open new therapeutic opportunities for BC CML and other myeloid malignancies.