Description
It is known that CBFB-MYH11, the fusion gene generated by inversion of chromosome 16 in human acute myeloid leukemia, is causative for oncogenic transformation. However, the mechanism by which CBFB-MYH11 initiates leukemogenesis is not clear. Previously published reports showed that CBFB-MYH11 dominantly inhibits RUNX1 and CBFB, and such inhibition has been suggested as the mechanism for leukemogenesis. However, knockin mice expressing Cbfb-MYH11 (Cbfb+/MYH11) showed defects in primitive hematopoiesis not seen in Cbfb null (Cbfb-/-) embryos indicating that Cbfb-MYH11 has repression independent activities as well.