Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38879624›Full record

ArticlePediatric research2025

Acute myeloid leukemia stem cell signature gene EMP1 is not an eligible therapeutic target.

Laurens Van Camp, Barbara Depreter, Jilke De Wilde, Mattias Hofmans, Malaïka Van der Linden, Eva Terras, Christophe Chantrain, Laurence Dedeken, An Van Damme, Anne Uyttebroeck and 2 more

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Article in Pediatric research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

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2citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Laurens Van CampGhent University, Department of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Ghent, Belgium.
Barbara DepreterAZ Delta General Hospital, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Roeselare, Belgium.
Jilke De WildeGhent University Hospital, Department of Pathology, Ghent, Belgium.
Mattias HofmansGhent University Hospital, Laboratory of Hematology, Ghent, Belgium.
Malaïka Van der LindenGhent University Hospital, Department of Pathology, Ghent, Belgium.
Eva TerrasGhent University Hospital, Department of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation, Ghent, Belgium.
Christophe ChantrainCentre Hospitalier Chrétien (CHC), MontLégia, Division of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, Liège, Belgium.
Laurence DedekenQueen Fabiola Children's University Hospital, Department of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, Brussels, Belgium.
An Van DammeUniversity Hospital Saint-Luc, Department of Pediatric Hematology Oncology, Brussels, Belgium.
Anne UyttebroeckUniversity Hospital Gasthuisberg, Department of Pediatrics, Leuven, Belgium.
Tim Lammens *Ghent University, Department of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Ghent, Belgium. tim.lammens@ugent.be.
Barbara De Moerloose *Ghent University, Department of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Ghent, Belgium.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundRelapse in pediatric acute myeloid leukemia (pedAML) patients is known to be associated with residual leukemic stem cells (LSC). We have previously shown that epithelial membrane protein 1 (EMP1) is significantly overexpressed in LSC compared to hematological stem cell fractions. EMP1 was also documented as part of the 17-gene stemness score and a 6-membrane protein gene score, both correlating high EMP1 expression with worse overall survival. However, its potential as a therapeutic target in pedAML is still unexplored.

methodsAssociation analyses of EMP1 expression with clinical and molecular AML characteristics were performed. Expression of EMP1 was evaluated in pedAML and cord blood samples. Expression in normal blood cells and tissues was evaluated by flow cytometry and immunohistochemistry, respectively.

resultsIn silico analyses showed variable mRNA expression of EMP1 in multiple pedAML datasets, and a significant correlation between high EMP1 transcript levels and the presence of inv(16). Flow cytometry showed overexpression of EMP1 in pedAML samples, as well as expression in normal blood subsets. Importantly, immunohistochemistry revealed EMP1 expression in multiple normal tissues.

conclusionAlthough EMP1 presents as an interesting membrane-associated target in pedAML, its abundant expression in normal blood cells and tissues will impede it from further exploration as a therapeutic target. IMPACT: EMP1 is highly expressed in multiple cancer types, but expression in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and normal tissues is unexplored. As EMP1 is investigated in other cancer types, expression in normal tissues and blood cells is relevant in predicting the success of EMP1-targeted therapies. In this study, we showed expression of EMP1 in multiple tissues, predicting high on-target off-tumor toxicity, which will warn other researchers of possible toxicities when generating EMP1-targeted therapy. Finally, we showed that high EMP1 expression is associated with better overall survival of pediatric AML patients, reducing the need for EMP1-targeted therapy.

Indexed as

Leukemia, Myeloid, AcuteMembrane GlycoproteinsNeoplasm ProteinsNeoplastic Stem CellsAdolescentChildChild, PreschoolFemaleFlow CytometryGene Expression Regulation, LeukemicHumansInfantMaleReceptors, Cell Surfaceepithelial membrane protein-1Membrane GlycoproteinsNeoplasm ProteinsReceptors, Cell Surface

Identifiers

PMID38879624

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.