STAT3β is a tumor suppressor in acute myeloid leukemia

• Published in: Blood advances Vol. 3; no. 13; pp. 1989 - 2002
• Main Authors: Aigner, Petra, Mizutani, Tatsuaki, Horvath, Jaqueline, Eder, Thomas, Heber, Stefan, Lind, Karin, Just, Valentin, Moll, Herwig P., Yeroslaviz, Assa, Fischer, Michael J.M., Kenner, Lukas, Győrffy, Balázs, Sill, Heinz, Grebien, Florian, Moriggl, Richard, Casanova, Emilio, Stoiber, Dagmar
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 09-07-2019; American Society of Hematology; Elsevier
• Subjects: Myeloid Neoplasia
• ISSN: 2473-9529; 2473-9537
• DOI: 10.1182/bloodadvances.2018026385

Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) exists in 2 alternatively spliced isoforms, STAT3α and STAT3β. Although truncated STAT3β was originally postulated to act as a dominant-negative form of STAT3α, it has been shown to have various STAT3α-independent regulatory functions. Recently, STAT3β gained attention as a powerful antitumorigenic molecule in cancer. Deregulated STAT3 signaling is often found in acute myeloid leukemia (AML); however, the role of STAT3β in AML remains elusive. Therefore, we analyzed the STAT3β/α messenger RNA (mRNA) expression ratio in AML patients, where we observed that a higher STAT3β/α mRNA ratio correlated with a favorable prognosis and increased overall survival. To gain better understanding of the function of STAT3β in AML, we engineered a transgenic mouse allowing for balanced Stat3β expression. Transgenic Stat3β expression resulted in decelerated disease progression and extended survival in PTEN- and MLL-AF9–dependent AML mouse models. Our findings further suggest that the antitumorigenic function of STAT3β depends on the tumor-intrinsic regulation of a small set of significantly up- and downregulated genes, identified via RNA sequencing. In conclusion, we demonstrate that STAT3β plays an essential tumor-suppressive role in AML.
•The STAT3β/α mRNA expression ratio in AML patients is a favorable prognostic marker and positively correlates with overall survival.•Transgenic Stat3β expression delays disease progression and prolongs overall survival in AML mouse models.
[Display omitted]