N-Cadherin and Tie2 positive CD34⁺CD38⁻CD123⁺ leukemic stem cell populations can develop acute myeloid leukemia more effectively in NOD/SCID mice.

Emerging studies suggest that the population of malignant cells found in human acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) arises from a rare population of leukemic stem cells (LSCs). A lot of investigators have reported the identification of cell surface markers, such as CD123. Here, we report the identification of N-cadherin and Tie2 as LSCs markers. Inoculation of CD34(+)CD38(-)CD123(+)N-cadherin(+) and CD34(+)CD38(-)CD123(+) Tie2(+) population can induce leukemia in NOD/SCID mice. The leukemic blast cells from the primary leukemic mice could also induce leukemia in the secondary transplantation. These findings suggested that N-cadherin and Tie2 were the important markers that can assist in leukemia development.