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Abstract 4181 Ahi-1 (Abelson helper integration site-1) is an oncogene that was initially identified by provirus insertional mutagenesis in v-abl-induced murine pre-B cell lymphoma. The Ahi-1/AHI-1 protein contains an SH3 domain, multiple SH3 binding sites and a WD40-repeat domain, all known to be important mediators of protein-protein interactions. Human AHI-1 is highly deregulated in human leukemic cells, particularly in BCR-ABL+ leukemic stem cells from patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). We have demonstrated that overexpression of Ahi-1 in primitive hematopoietic cells confers a growth advantage in vitro and induces leukemia in vivo; these effects can be enhanced by BCR-ABL, a fusion oncogene that plays a major role in the genesis of CML. AHI-1 can physically interact with BCR-ABL and JAK2 in CML cells and this interaction complex further mediates tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) response/resistance of CML stem/progenitor cells. Despite its importance, the mechanism by which this complex affects cell proliferation and survival and regulates sensitivity of CML cells to TKIs remains unknown. To identify and characterize which functional domain(s) of Ahi-1 is critical for its interaction with BCR-ABL and/or Jak2, full length Ahi-1 and several mutant forms, including N-terminal deletion (N-terΔ, containing both SH3 and WD40-repeat domains), SH3 deletion (SH3Δ) and double WD40-repeat domain and SH3 domain deletions (SH3WD40Δ) were generated and stably transduced into BCR-ABL inducible BaF3 cells, in which the level of expression of BCR-ABL can be down-regulated by exposure to doxycycline. Epitope-tagged full length and mutant Ahi-1 constructs were also transiently expressed in 293T cells co-expressed with either BCR-ABL or Jak2. Co-IP experiments showed that Ahi-1 is highly expressed and stably associated with BCR-ABL-Jak2 complex in BCR-ABL inducible cells co-transduced with full-length Ahi-1 and that it can directly interact with Jak2; Ahi-1 was detected in both Ahi-1-transduced BaF3 cells (without BCR-ABL) and BCR-ABL inducible cells after IP with a Jak2 antibody. Interestingly, N-terminal region of Ahi-1 was required for Ahi-1-Jak2 interaction as a predicted 70 kD product was not detectable in the same cells transduced with the Ahi-1N-terΔ mutant. In contrast, N-terminal region of Ahi-1 was not associated with Ahi-1-BCR-ABL interaction since BCR-ABL was still detectable in BCR-ABL inducible cells co-transduced with the Ahi-1N-terΔ mutant after IP with the anti-ABL antibody. The deletion of either the SH3 domain or both the SH3 and WD40-repeat domains did not interfere with their interaction with Jak2. Ahi-1 lacking both the SH3 and WD40-repeat domains lost its ability to interact with BCR-ABL when the SH3WD40Δ mutant and BCR-ABL were co-expressed in 293T cells and the SH3 deletion did not affect Ahi-1's interaction with BCR-ABL, indicating that the WD40-repeart domain is required for a direct Ahi-1-BCR-ABL interaction. As expected, overexpression of full-length Ahi-1 in BCR-ABL inducible cells resulted in fewer Annexin V+ apoptotic cells after imatinib (IM) treatment compared to BCR-ABL inducible cells (5.9% and 8% v.s.26% and 34% with either 2 or 5 μM IM) after 24 hours. Interestingly, cells expressing the SH3WD40Δ mutant displayed dramatically increased cell sensitivity to IM with increased Annexin V+ cells (62% and 69% v.s.5.9% and 8%), while cells expressing the SH3Δ and the N-terΔ mutants had similar numbers of Annexin V+ cells as compared to BCR-ABL inducible cells (32% and 16% v.s.26% with 2 μM IM). Colony forming cell assays (CFC) further showed significantly reduced growth factor independent CFC numbers generated from the SH3WD40Δ mutant compared to BCR-ABL inducible cells co-expressed with the full-length Ahi-1 (4% v.s.46% with 5μM IM compared to untreated cells). Interestingly, a gene expression study comparing full-length Ahi-1-transduced BCR-ABL cells with its mutants further demonstrated that these changes were associated with deregulated expression of Bcl-2 and Cis (Cytokine inducible SH2 protein) involved in apoptosis. These results suggest that the WD40-repeat domain is important for Ahi-1's role in mediating IM-induced apoptosis and that targeting this critical domain of Ahi-1may provide a novel therapeutic option for treatment of CML. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Abstract 3404 Imatinib mesylate (IM) is a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) that induces clinical responses in most chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients. Nevertheless, early relapses and later emergence of IM-resistant disease pose serious concerns for many. The inadequacies of IM therapy are due, at least in part, to the unique properties of CML stem/progenitor cells that make them generally less responsive to IM and, indeed, other TKIs, and also confer on them a genetic instability that leads to a high rate of formation of BCR-ABL mutants. Improved treatment approaches to prevent the development of resistant subclones by targeting other key molecular elements active in CML stem/progenitor cells are thus clearly needed. One candidate is a complex that forms in CML stem/progenitor cells between the oncoproteins encoded by AHI-1 (Abelson helper integration site 1), BCR-ABL and the JAK2 kinase. This complex contributes to the transforming activity of BCR-ABL both in vitro and in vivo and also plays a role in the IM response/resistance of primary CML stem/progenitor cells. We now describe the results of experiments designed to test the ability of ABL and JAK2 inhibitors to block the activity of this protein complex in CML cells. K562 cells engineered to stably overexpress AHI-1 showed a significantly reduced sensitivity to both IM (at 1 and 5 μM) and TG101209, a JAK2 inhibitor, (at 0.5 and 1 μM), as determined by assays for cell viability, apopotosis, and colony-forming activity. K562 cells engineered to suppression AHI-1 showed an opposite effect, with a heightened sensitivity to IM at concentrations as low as 1 μM. In addition, IM together with TG101209 was more effective at killing AHI-1-overexpressing K562 cells, IM-resistant K562 cells and IM-resistant T315I-mutant cells than either treatment alone. Western blot and co-IP experiments demonstrated a significant reduction of p-BCR-ABL, p-JAK2 and p-STAT5 in cells treated with IM plus TG101209 compared to cells treated with IM or TG101209 alone. Importantly, treatment with 5 μM IM, 150 nM dasatinib (DA) or 5 μM nilotinib (NL) in combination with 100 nM TG101209 caused a significantly greater reduction in the viability of primary CD34+CD38− and CD34+CD38+ CML cells when these responses were compared to any of the TKIs or TG101209 alone (~2-4 fold, n=3). Apoptotic cells at 72 hours were also significantly increased for all drug combinations compared to single agent treatments (40%-52% for the combinations vs 15%-18% for the single agents). CFSE tracking analysis of cell division in these cells further demonstrated additive anti-proliferative activity from the TKI plus TG101219 combinations, although some rare undivided cells were not eliminated. Nevertheless, exposure of CD34+ CML cells from IM-nonresponders (n=4) to TG101209 plus IM or DA did cause a greater inhibition (81% and 85%) of patients' colony-forming cells as compared to the same cells treated with the combination of IM plus DA only, or IM or DA only (60%, 41% and 50% inhibition, p Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Abstract 38 The molecular signature of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is the BCR-ABL fusion gene originating in a multipotent hematopoietic stem cell. The BCR-ABL oncoprotein (p210BCR-ABL) has constitutively elevated tyrosine kinase activity that perturbs several signalling cascades, including the PI3K/AKT, JAK2/STAT5, NF-kB, and RAS/MAPK pathways. The current first line treatment for CML is the tyrosine kinase inhibitor imatinib mesylate (IM) that induces clinical remission in most chronic phase CML patients. However, early relapses and IM-resistant disease have emerged and are frequently associated with mutations in the BCR-ABL kinase domain. Our recent studies indicate that CML stem cells are less responsive to IM and other tyrosine kinase inhibitors and are critical target population for IM resistance. It is therefore critical to identify other therapies that target CML stem cells to prevent acquisition of resistance. One candidate target is AHI-1 (Abelson helper integration site 1), a recently discovered oncogene that is deregulated in primary leukemic stem cells from CML patients. AHI-1 contains several domains indicative of signalling functions, including an SH3 and a WD40-repeat domain. We have recently identified a novel AHI-1-BCR-ABL-JAK2 interaction complex that modulates BCR-ABL transforming activity both in vitro and in vivo and play a key role in the IM response/resistance of primary CML stem/progenitor cells. To investigate AHI-1's involvement in mediating this cellular resistance to IM and to test the comparative ability of new ABL and JAK2 inhibitors to inhibit this complex in CML cells, AHI-1 was either stably overexpressed in K562 cells by transduction of EF1a-AHI-1-IRES-YFP lentivirus or suppressed in K562 cells using RNA interference. Interestingly, an increase in cellular proliferation and colony formation and a decrease in apoptosis were observed in the presence of 1, 5 and 10 uM of IM when AHI-1 was overexpressed. Survival of these cells was similar to IM resistant K562 cells, which are highly resistant to IM in vitro and display higher AHI-1 protein expression than parental K562 cells. Suppression of AHI-1 had the opposite effect, with cells displaying heightened sensitivity to IM at concentrations as low as 1 uM. Phosphorylation and total protein expression levels of several proteins known to be involved in BCR-ABL signalling, including JAK2, STAT5, MAPK, SRC, AKT and NF-kB (P105, P50, and P65 subunits), were quantified by Western blot analysis. Elevated phosphorylation and total protein expression levels of several of these proteins were observed when AHI-1 was overexpresessed, in particular in the JAK2/STAT5 pathway and especially in the presence of Interleukin 3. Due to the strong effects AHI-1 had on this signalling cascade, we next inhibited JAK2 activity using a selective JAK2 inhibitor, TG101209, that is highly effective against the V617F mutation and inhibits JAK2 and STAT5 activities in polycythemia vera progenitor cells. AHI-1 overexpressing cells showed reduced proliferation and colony formation when treated with IM and TG101209 in combination compared to either IM or TG101209 alone. Interestingly, treatment with IM (5 uM) or dasatinib (150 nM, DA) in combination with TG101209 (100 nM) resulted in greater inhibition (81% and 85%) of CD34+ CML stem/progenitor cells from IM nonresponders (n=4), compared to the same cells treated with a combination of IM and DA (∼60%, p Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a clonal multilineage myeloproliferative disorder arising from the neoplastic transformation of a pluripotent hematopoietic stem cell that acquires a unique BCR-ABL fusion gene. The BCR-ABL oncoprotein displays constitutively elevated tyrosine kinase activity that deregulates cellular proliferation and apoptosis control through effects on several common signal transduction cascades, including the PI3K/AKT, JAK2/STAT5, and NF-kB pathways. The current first line treatment for CML involves administration of the tyrosine kinase inhibitor imatinib mesylate (IM) that has shown promise in treating chronic phase CML patients. However, early relapses and IM-resistant disease have emerged and are frequently associated with mutations in the BCR-ABL kinase domain that affect inhibitor binding. AHI-1 (Abelson helper integration site 1) is a recently discovered oncogene that has been demonstrated to be highly deregulated in a CML cell line (K562) and in primary leukemic stem/progenitor cells from CML patients. AHI-1 contains several unique domains that are indicative of signalling functions, including both an SH3 and a WD40-repeat domain. We have recently demonstrated that overexpression of murine Ahi-1 is able to transform IL-3 dependent Baf3, resulting in cells able to grow in the absence of growth factors. When these transduced cells were injected into sublethally irradiated NOD/SCID immunodeficient mice, the mice developed leukemia, demonstrating the oncogenic properties of Ahi-1. Interestingly, these in vitro and in vivo effects can be enhanced by co-transduction of BCR-ABL in these cells. In addition, a direct interaction between AHI-1 and BCR-ABL at endogenous levels was identified in K562 cells and this protein interaction complex further mediated IM response/resistance in CML stem/progenitor cells. To further investigate AHI-1’s involvement in mediating this cellular resistance to IM, AHI-1 was either stably overexpressed in K562 cells by transduction of EF1a-AHI-1-IRES-YFP lentivirus or was suppressed in K562 cells using a lentiviral-mediated RNA interference approach. Interestingly, overexpression of AHI-1 in K562 cells significantly increased cellular survival in the presence of 1, 5 and 10 uM of IM as measured by a viability assay; survival of these cells was similar to that observed in an IM resistant K562 cell line reported to be highly resistant to IM in vitro. Furthermore, suppression of AHI-1 had the opposite effect, with cells displaying heightened sensitivity to IM at concentrations as low as 1 uM. Phosphorylation and protein expression levels of several proteins known to be involved in BCR-ABL signalling, including JAK2, STAT5, AKT and NF-kB (P105, P50, and P65 subunits), were then quantified by Western blot analysis. Interestingly, elevated phosphorylation and protein expression levels of JAK2, and STAT5 and total protein expression levels NF-kB p105/p55 subunits were observed in both the AHI-1 overexpressing K562 cells and IM resistant K562 cells, while reduced phosphorylation and protein expression of these same proteins was observed in AHI-1 suppressed K562 cells. Differential expression of phosphorylated NF-kB p65 subunit at serine 536 was observed, while total protein expression levels did not significantly differ. Phosphorylated AKT expression levels were only affected in AHI-1 suppressed K562 cells, and total AKT protein expression was not affected in AHI-1 overexpressed or suppressed cells. Interestingly, AHI-1 protein expression was highly elevated at endogenous levels in the IM resistant K562 cells relative to a parental K562 cell line. These findings suggest that AHI-1 may play an important role in mediating cellular resistance to IM through activation of several signalling proteins involved in BCR-ABL signalling pathway, including JAK2 and STAT5.

(Abelson helper integration site-1) is a novel oncogene that was initially identified by provirus insertional mutagenesis in v-abl-induced murine pre-B cell lymphoma as a candidate cooperate oncogene. The Ahi-1 protein has a SH3 domain, multiple SH3 binding sites and WD-repeat domains, suggesting novel signaling activities. We have recently demonstrated that AHI-1 is highly deregulated in human leukemic cells, particularly in BCR-ABL+ leukemic stem cells from patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Overexpression of Ahi-1 in primitive hematopoietic cells confers a growth advantage in vitro and induces leukemia in vivo; these effects can be enhanced by BCR-ABL, a fusion oncogene that plays a major role in the genesis of CML. Conversely, RNAi-mediated suppression of AHI-1 in BCR-ABL-transduced lin−CD34+ human cord blood cells and leukemic stem/progenitor cells from CML patients reduces their growth autonomy in vitro. Interestingly, a direct physical interaction between AHI-1 and BCR-ABL at endogenous levels has been identified in CML cells and this interaction complex further mediates tyrosine kinase inhibitor response/resistance of CML stem/progenitor cells. To further investigate regulatory roles of Ahi-1 in mediating BCR-ABL transforming activities and altered signaling, we have now evaluated co-operative effects of Ahi-1 in a BCR-ABL inducible BaF3 cell line model in which the level of expression of p210BCR-ABL can be variably down-regulated by exposure to doxycycline (Dox). These experiments showed that reduction in BCR-ABL protein expression in the presence of Dox resulted in a corresponding decrease in growth factor independence both in liquid suspension cultures and in semi-solid cultures and an increase in Annexin V+ apoptotic cells in vitro. Interestingly, stable co-expression of Ahi-1 in BCR-ABL inducible BaF3 cells under these stringent conditions enabled them to grow continuously in liquid suspension culture, with fewer Annexin V+ apoptotic cells, and to produce more factor independent CFCs than cells transduced with BCR-ABL alone (10–30 fold). Strikingly, Ahi-1 co-transduced cells also displayed greater resistance to imatinib and, in the presence of IL-3, produced as many CFCs as were produced by the same cells without treatment of imatinib. In contrast, BCR-ABL-transduced cells alone showed a significant reduction of CFC output in response to imatinib. Western blot analysis further demonstrated that co-expression of Ahi-1 in BCR-ABL inducible cells resulted in sustained phosphorylation of BCR-ABL and enhanced activation of JAK2/STAT5 compared to BCR-ABL inducible cells alone when BCR-ABL expression was downregulated in the presence of Dox. Moreover, physical interaction between Ahi-1 and BCR-ABL was demonstrated by co-IP studies in Ahi-1 co-expressed BCR-ABL inducible cells. Taken together, these results provide direct evidence of the regulatory role of Ahi-1 in BCR-ABL-mediated transformation and imatinib response that is associated with altered BCR-ABL phosphorylation and JAK2/STAT5 activation.

Ahi-1 (Abelson helper integration site 1) is a novel gene that was initially identified by provirus insertional mutagenesis in v-abl-induced murine pre-B cell lymphoma as a candidate cooperate oncogene. The Ahi-1 protein has a SH3 domain, multiple SH3 binding sites and WD-repeat domains, suggesting novel signaling activities. We recently demonstrated that Ahi-1/AHI-1 transcript levels are highly deregulated in human leukemic cells, particularly in highly enriched populations of BCR-ABL+ leukemic stem cells from patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) where levels of BCR-ABL transcripts are also elevated. Interestingly, overexpression of Ahi-1 alone in primitive murine hematopotic cells confers a proliferative advantage in vitro and induces a lethal leukemia in vivo; these effects can be enhanced by BCR-ABL, a fusion oncogene that drives CML pathogenesis. To investigate whether deregulated expression of AHI-1 may directly contribute to BCR-ABL-mediated transformation and altered signaling pathways in human CML, knockdown of AHI-1 expression in K562 cells, a cell line that was derived from a patient with CML and that is characterized by highly increased expression of AHI-1, was performed using retroviral-mediated RNA interference. Retroviral-mediated suppression specifically inhibited endogenous AHI-1 expression in transduced cells by 70% as evaluated by Q-RT-PCR and Western blot analyses. It further caused a significant reduction in their growth factor independence in semi-solid cultures (up to 5-fold, P< 0.01) and in single cell cultures (2-fold, P< 0.05) by comparison to cells transduced with a control vector. Importantly, lentiviral-mediated suppression of AHI-1 in BCR-ABL transduced primitive human cord blood (CB) cells (lin−CD34+) further showed a significant reduction of up to 10-fold (P< 0.01) in colony-forming cell (CFC) output and up to 5-fold (P< 0.01) in liquid suspension cultures as compared to BCR-ABL transduced cells alone. In addition, suppression of AHI-1 expression also resulted in a reduction in CFC output in lin−CD34+ stem/progenitor cells from CML patients (n=3). Strikingly, co-expression of Ahi-1 in BCR-ABL inducible BaF3 cells immediately reverses growth deficiencies exhibited by down-regulation of BCR-ABL in both semi-solid cultures (>50-fold) and in liquid suspension cultures in the absence of IL-3 (>30-fold), and is associated with sustained phosphorylation of BCR-ABL and enhanced activation of JAK2/STAT5. Moreover, a direct physical interaction between AHI-1 and BCR-ABL at endogenous levels has now been identified in CML cells; this interaction complex is also associated with a 120 kDa tyrosine phosphorylated protein. In addition, significant changes in imatinib (IM, an inhibitor of the BCR-ABL) response have been further demonstrated in Ahi-1 transduced BCR-ABL inducible BaF3 cells (P< 0.01) and in AHI-1 suppressed CML stem/progenitor cells (n=3). These findings provide strong evidence that Ahi-1/AHI-1 interacts with BCR-ABL to form an interaction complex and that this interaction complex further modulates altered BCR-ABL signaling and transforming activities of CML progenitor cells, including their response to IM.

Ahi-1 (Abelson helper integration site-1) is a novel gene that we recently identified based on its common activation in v-abl or myc-induced murine leukemias and lymphomas. It encodes a unique protein with known signaling features, including SH3 and WD40-repeat domains, but its function is largely unknown. We have recently demonstrated that Ahi-1/AHI-1 transcript levels are normally down-regulated during both early murine and human hematopoietic cell differentiation and are highly increased in human leukemic cells, particularly in highly enriched populations of primitive BCR-ABL+ leukemic stem cells (lin−CD34+CD38−) in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). To investigate the potential cooperative activity of Ahi-1 in BCR-ABL-mediated signal transduction and leukemogenesis, we transduced IL-3-dependent BaF3 cells with MSCV-Ahi-1-IRES-YFP and/or MSCV-BCR-ABL-IRES-GFP retroviruses and compared the biological behavior of these cells in vitro and in vivo. All Ahi-1-transduced clonal cell lines showed increased proliferative activity and reduced apoptosis in the absence of IL-3, compared to parental BaF3 cells or control GFP-transduced cells. Interestingly, overexpression of both Ahi-1 and BCR-ABL caused more enhanced perturbations when compared to cells transduced with either Ahi-1 or BCR-ABL alone. Strikingly, intravenous injection of NOD/SCID-β2microglobulin−/−mice with BaF3 cells induced to overexpress Ahi-1 alone induces a lethal leukemia within 70 days. These leukemogenic activities were further increased by introduction of co-transduced Ahi-1 and BCR-ABL cells, producing a shorter latency of 30 days. A disease latency of 40 days was revealed by introduction of BCR-ABL-transduced cells alone. Western blot analysis showed that both protein expression and the tyrosine kinase activity of p210BCR-ABL were highly increased in cells co-transduced with Ahi-1 and BCR-ABL compared to BaF3 cells transduced with BCR-ABL alone. Similarly, we also observed higher levels of Ahi-1 protein expression in the same dually transduced cells (Ahi-1+BCR-ABL+) than in those transduced with Ahi-1 alone. We further demonstrated a similarly perturbed proliferative activity, growth factor independence and colony-forming cell (CFC) output in long-term culture initiated cell (LTC-IC) assays of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)-treated primitive murine BM cells (Lin−Sca1+ cells) transduced with Ahi-1 and BCR-ABL, either alone or in combination. To investigate directly the cooperating oncogenic role of AHI-1 in BCR-ABL-mediated malignant transformation of CML cells, knockdown of AHI-1 expression in K562 cells, a cell line that was derived from a patient with CML and that is characterized by highly increased expression of AHI-1, was performed using retroviral-mediated RNA interference. Retroviral-mediated suppression specifically inhibited endogenous AHI-1 expression in transduced cells by 70% as evaluated by Q-RT-PCR and Western blot analyses. It further caused a significant reduction in their growth factor independence in semi-solid cultures (up to 5-fold) and in single cell cultures (2-fold) by comparison to cells transduced with a control vector. Taken together, these findings provide strong evidence of the transforming potential of Ahi-1/AHI-1 in primitive hematopoietic cells. This effect is additive with those of BCR-ABL, suggesting that AHI-1 and BCR-ABL can play a cooperate role in the development of BCR-ABL-associated diseases like CML.

Ahi-1 (Abelson helper integration site-1) is a novel gene that is commonly activated by proviral insertional mutagenesis in v-abl or myc-induced murine leukemias and lymphomas. Ahi-1 encodes a unique protein with known signaling features including SH3 and WD40-repeat domains but its normal function is unknown. Involvement of Ahi-1 in leukemogenesis is suggested by the high frequency of Ahi-1 mutations seen in certain virus-induced murine leukemias and by the gross perturbations seen in the expression of human AHI-1 and its isoforms in several human leukemic cell lines, as well as in the primary lin−CD34+CD38− leukemic stem cell-enriched population in patients with chronic phase CML. To further investigate the role of Ahi-1 as a potential co-operating oncogene relevant to BCR-ABL-mediated leukemogenesis, we compared the biological behavior of primitive murine hematopoietic cells from the bone marrow of 5-FU-treated adult C57BL/6 mice after their transduction with MSCV-Ahi-1-IRES-YFP, MSCV-BCR-ABL-IRES-GFP retroviruses, either alone or in combination. Quantitative real-time RT-PCR analysis of RNA from FACS-purified lin−YFP+ (Ahi-1+), lin−GFP+ (BCR-ABL+) and lin−YFP+GFP+ (Ahi-1+ + BCR-ABL+)-transduced bone marrow cells showed that Ahi-1 transcripts were present at 40-fold higher levels in the Ahi-1-transduced cells by comparison to the control cells transduced with the empty MIY vector. Immediately post-transduction, the Ahi-1-transduced cells produced a similar number of colonies as the MIY-transduced control cells in semi-solid cultures containing Steel factor (SF) + IL-3 + IL-6 + EPO, although a small proportion of the Ahi-1+ CFCs (~10%) were already growth factor-independent. In addition, the proliferative activity of the FACS-purified lin−YFP+ (Ahi-1+) cells (as indicated by the rate of expansion of viable cells in a week in liquid cultures containing SF, IL-3, and IL-6) was ~3-fold higher than in cultures initiated with control (lin−YFP+) cells. Moreover, after 4 weeks in longterm culture-initiating cell (LTC-IC) assays, the Ahi-1+ cells produced 2x more CFCs than the control cells. All of these endpoints (proliferative activity, growth factor-dependence and CFC output in LTC-IC assays) are also perturbed by BCR-ABL transduction. Interestingly, in cells that were co-transduced with Ahi-1 and BCR-ABL, all of these effects were further enhanced as compared to cells transduced with either BCR-ABL alone (2–4-fold) or Ahi-1 alone (3–6-fold). Thus, overexpression of Ahi-1 alone deregulates the proliferation control of primitive murine hematopoietic cells and this is additive with the effects of BCR-ABL, suggesting that Ahi-1 and BCR-ABL can cooperate to promote the progression of BCR-ABL-associated diseases like CML.